Aliens Discovered
by Golfbabe87
Summary: A human transporting vessel responds to a distress signal on an abandoned planet used for scientific research by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. With the promise of wealth and discovery they land not realizing something has been waiting for them.
1. Chapter 1

2431

Terraformed planet B-999

The air was thick and humid. The controlled atmosphere made beads of sweat drip down her neck and fall to the floor. Her footsteps were lithe and nearly silent as she made her way across the room leisurely. The two-dozen incubator tubes illuminated the room and cast a blue florescent glow upon the humans housed within. She deftly avoided the larger and most prominent overgrown lianas covering the ground.

"Shit." The whispered curse rolled off her tongue with a strange and barely recognizable accent. She rarely spoke in the human tongue and the act of speech was unpracticed.

Despite her stealth, a shadow hovered in the rafters above gazing down at her in interest. It hissed, and saliva dripped to the floor unnoticed. The hairs along the back of her neck prickled in warning and Mikki paused to listen. Sensing no danger, she relaxed slightly and set her spear aside on one of the consoles. The knife swayed with her movement tucked away in her belt but stayed secure at her waist.

Mikki stared crossly at the incubator hosting the human clone. Another human clone was dying before reaching full term. This male was not the only one failing. She tugged on her short blonde locks in frustration. Not only were the hosts failing, but the distress signal was still unanswered. How were any humans going to find this planet based on a signal? If this settlement were really important humans would have travelled here years ago. She possessed little hope for the humans to land on this planet and attempt any sort of rescue.

A subtle creek came from above. She slowed her breathing and reached for the spear slowly. Mikki scented the air and channeled her hearing listening attentively for any sound out of place. Her muscles tensed instinctively knowing she was not alone.

In an instant, a large black form dropped from the ceiling. The creature snarled viciously swinging its massive tail. Mikki spun on the balls of her feet avoiding the attack and swung the spear in retaliation. The creature hissed and eluded the attack. Consequently, it suffered a momentary loss of equilibrium allowing the human female to aid gravity in gracelessly dropping the creature to the floor.

Mikki trapped the tail and hit the creature in the head allowing it no time to gain its bearings. It thrashed restlessly against the pointed tip thrust against the vulnerable underside of its upper carapace. The inner mouth snapped angrily and she rolled her eyes.

The younger ones were prone to test their dominance.

" _Be still."_ Mikki ordered the drone telepathically.The young male xenomorph ceased and remained still. _"I dislike being interrupted. Do the others know you're missing?"_ The male hissed guiltily.

" _The Queen might be interested to hear you've been skipping lessons again, Zippy."_

The male panicked. _"No! Please, Mother. I promise to obey."_

Mikki released him shaking her head. _"What am I going to do with you?"_ She smiled softly and caressed his face. He dropped his head submissively nuzzling her hand enjoying the attention.

His tail swung back and forth anxiously. _"Will they be born soon? Will I have more brothers and sisters?"_

" _Is that why you followed me? Are you so anxious to have more siblings?"_ Zippy nodded excitedly. _"You just want someone younger to boss around"_ she teased.

It was partly true. Zippy was one of the youngest drones in the nest and only a handful was below him in status. While he was technically two years old and physically mature enough to hunt on his own, he was still an adolescent. Life was abnormally peaceful, and normally he would not be coddled, but it was in their power to do so; within her power to do so. Truthfully, she enjoyed catering to the younger drones, and the Queen knew it.

Zippy paced to the host she had been observing earlier. _"This one, will he be ready soon?"_

" _Hopefully,"_ Mikki said softly grazing her fingers languidly along the glass of the incubator.

There were a total of 23 male and female human clones enclosed in incubator pods. She approached one of the consoles checking on the status on the others. Expectantly, 50% of the hosts were liable to reach full maturity for optimal breeding. Unfortunately, the hosts did not live up to the full potential as a regularly born human. This male before her, not yet developed to his tenth year, would perish in a matter of days. He would need to be propagated immediately before he expired. It was likely that the resulting offspring would not survive to full maturity, but it was a risk that the hive needed to take.

Marvels did occur. Zippy himself had been a risk; a risk that had flourished.

The Queen would not be pleased. Her last group of newborns was nearly a year ago. And very few of the brood remained. They simply couldn't produce enough healthy hosts for their hive to thrive. Mikki was the last of the natural born humans. The rest of the planets humans were used as hosts nearly nine years ago. Including her biological parents.

Well, that wasn't completely true. There had been Jimmy. She looked at Zippy remembering his particular host. There had also been that small trading vessel five years back. But even then, too much time had passed since the hive had fresh hosts available.

Zippy's head angled curiously. _"He's younger than the others. Is he like my host?"_

Mikki's hand dropped to her side. _"Somewhat"_ she said after a moment of contemplative silence. _"Although, I doubt his facehugger will be as fast as yours."_ The young male straightened under the praise.

A loud beep came from one of the consoles to her right. One of the yellow lights blinked in accordance with the sound.

" _What is it?"_

" _I'm not sure."_ Mikki frowned walking to the station and pressing a few commands. _"The signal."_ Her eyes widened in surprise. _"A human vessel."_

Zippy's head raised in excitement. _"Humans? Really?"_

" _It's, no that can't be right."_ She shook her head checking the influx of data. _"It's just malfunctioning again, or picking up space dust."_ It was surreal that after so many years of waiting, a ship had finally come to them.

Mikki couldn't find an error with the technology. _"We need to let the other's know."_

Her hand shook slightly. Humans. Here. She hadn't seen another real human being since her sister.

A scamper was heard beyond the doors. Sluggishly, the doors opened and a small ten-pound quadruped xenomorph rushed inside. It scuttled across the floor and hurriedly made it's way to her. Zippy hissed when it stepped on his tail before making its way up to lay claim atop Mikki's shoulder.

It was obviously distressed and she stroked the creature's sleek dark exterior hoping to calm it. Xenomorphs bred from non-humanoid life forms were incapable of telepathic speech, but were able to communicate emotions and often images to other members of the nest. While not useless, they were all well loved and vital to the nest, their purpose and abilities were vastly different from the other drones. They served similar roles as their hosts had, as serviceable pets.

The images were brief and out of sync, but Mikki was well versed in deciphering telepathic communication. After deciphering the message, she stood stock still, too shocked to move.

" _Mother?"_ Zippy questioned.

Mikki blinked and opened her mouth. She began to speak in human, but corrected herself realizing her error. _"Humans have landed in the outskirts of the south east border."_

She licked her lips unable to discern if she was nervous or excited at the news. At least it meant that the human technology was still fully equipped, if a little delayed. Zippy was practically vibrating with energy. At least he was happy. He was one of the few that had never encountered a live human, other than her own person.

The Queen was excited. Mikki could feel her excitement thrumming through her veins as if it were her own. And she knew exactly what the Queen wished her do to.

" _What do we do Mother?"_

Her lips widened into a sinister smile across her scar-addled face. " _Greet our visitors of course."_


	2. Chapter 2

We are going first person POV and back in time for a few chapters. This is a bit lengthy in explanations but I hope you enjoy. Please leave comments and suggestions. All mistakes are mine as this is unbetaed. This is finished and was part of my Nanowrimo for 2017. I just need to edit it and post. Major warnings for multiple OC's, explicit sexual content, implied xenomorph/human relations, canon typical violence.

* * *

2415 AD

Terraformed planet B-999

The first time I met her, I was four; I remember because it was my birthday, my human birthday. My mother made an assortment of pancakes for breakfast as a treat. My little sister was sitting in her high chair stuffing cut up pieces of pancake into her mouth. Her hands were sticky and covered in maple syrup stuck to the tuffs of her raven hair. Mama was going to have to fix her hair again, not that there was much hair to begin with. Katie was only one.

I kicked my legs happily under the table eating each bite with enthusiasm. Mama promised to do my hair in a French twist. It was a special day. Not only was it my birthday, but I would also train my first, and only Xenomorph.

My parents were scientists, my Mother a geneticist, and my Father a microbiologist. There were a limited number of scientists involved in the domestication and control of engineered xenomorphs founded by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Of course, at that time I didn't understand exactly what a xenomorph was, or how dangerous. As I grew older I was lead to believe that xenomorphs were not dangerous. They were merely animals, less than that really. They were created for the purpose of labor and to be sold as exotic pets and eventually military weapons if all went well. I would have believed all of their human lies if I had been paired with any other xenomorph.

We lived in a very secluded planet that was terraformed a year before I was born. I was one of the first humans to be birthed on planet B-999. There were approximately 107,633 humans on the planet, 38,452 of which lived in our humble city of Ripley.

Xenomorphs, to me, were large black animals I had seen only in pictures and on videos. They were wild and untamed, and I viewed them as a child would a tiger, wild exotic and predatory creatures. They were dangerous, but nothing more than large kitty cats that zoo's had tamed back on original Earth. I had never seen one in person before, and today would be my first live interaction.

The compound had engineered 59 successful xenomorphs, not including the current Queen. I was most excited to see her; as a child I had heard fascinating stories of the size and power of the Mother to all xenomorphs. Not to mention the way she could telepathically connect with her children and control their every move. Or more appropriately control through love. It was the telepathic connection that Weyland-Yutani was most interested in. The xenomorphs were capable of disobeying the Queen, but they were compelled to obey and they wanted to please her above all else. They loved one another and put the survival of their race above all; it's part of what makes them so dangerous to humans. Humans, by contrast, have very little interest in their own survival as a race, and kill mercilessly and without discrimination. Humans kill for sport. Xenomorphs, on the other hand, they kill for the survival of the hive.

The Weyland-Yutani Corporation wanted to harness the hive mentality and believed domesticating them was the solution. They were animals after all, and most animals, could be domesticated to some extent, trained at the very least. This theory was implemented at the moment of birth by telepathically connecting to someone other than the Queen. The connection to the Queen was hypothesized to begin at birth; others thought a weak connection was already established prior to hatching from the egg. At the very least, the connection could be weakened if a bond was initiated from the beginning of the hatching process with another creature, in this instance, a human child.

The most recent developments had shown progress with xenomorphs forging a telepathic connection with a mind in similar development, more precisely, a developing child. Of the 59 xenomorphs, 23 had successfully established telepathic communication with children, the other 36 xenomorphs were unsuccessful in their transition over the years, and were at best, able to follow simple commands when they chose to; however, they were still in the most basic sense, irrepressible.

In the instances the xenomorph successfully bonded, they became close, protective, and even affectionate towards their human counterparts. This made choosing the child of the upmost importance. The way a child was chosen varied. Children were usually chosen based on their genetic makeup and a series of tests, all deemed relatively safe. Most important to a successful bond was a genetic marker; they called it the xeno-factor.

The Xeno-factor was a recessive gene that was passed to the offspring from both parents. However, it's actually more complicated than that. The gene was what they call, active, simply put, it has the potential to mutate and evolve. The 23 xenomorphs that did not transition with their bond, failed because at some point they did not respond anymore. It was as if one day the telepathic communication ceased, and they failed to recognize their human companion anymore. The transition pinnacled at puberty and was the deciding time on whether or not a bond would fail or grow stronger. Scientists, at the time, had no way to determine prior to puberty whether the bond would fail or succeed. Weyland-Yutani scientists certainly tried to predict such factors, and did all that they could to ensure success.

Both of my biological parents carried the recessive xeno-factor; and passed it on to me. All children are tested when born; it's protocol. Katie carried it as well. The entire planet was terraformed for this purpose. Weyland-Yutani wanted to improve the human race, and save an endangered species from extinction, from other humans who wanted to destroy them completely. At least, that was the official statement.

Humans nearly destroyed the xenomorph race 34 years ago. There was a lot of political outrage and all experiments were halted and destroyed. However, the corporation managed to salvage its most essential research. Over the years they relocated, recruited, and rebuilt, all with the upmost discretion.

Today I would officially be a part of it all.

I practically preened while Mom braided my blond hair. It was nice to have the attention, and I loved it when she did my hair. I got to wear a purple dress that had a bow in the back with black stockings and shiny shoes. My parents loaded the car and drove us to work with them. We dropped my sister at the day care center and I took each of their hands as we walked through the many hallways of the corporate building. My parents were so proud that I could read the corporate sign.

It is still to this day the tallest building I have ever seen in person, filled with windows held together by sheets of gray steel.

I swung their arms gleefully back and forth, delighted to be the center of attention. Katie was the baby, and while I loved being an older sister, I was four and wanted to have my parents focus on me as much as possible.

As we entered into one of the offices we were greeted by one of the leading scientists, Dr. Lark. He told me how proud and what a good girl I was. He listened to my heartbeat and lungs and commented how much I looked like my Mother. I smiled widely at him, thrilled. My Mother was beautiful, with dark blond hair framing her face and sparkling green eyes. Katie looked more like Dad with her raven hair and brown eyes. But she was still a baby. She would have a lot of time to determine her facial features. She looked like our father as she grew older. I assume she would have grown to look like him more so had she been allowed to live.

Mom hugged me close as we walked to the large room where the Queen of the xenomorphs was held. We passed a boy with dark hair and blue eyes smiling excitedly. He was riding on a cart with a huge green and brown egg, a xenomorph egg. He must have just visited the Queen and were proceeding to the birthing chamber where they would inject a sterile component to ease the birthing process and grow the xenomorph themselves while he stayed connected to it. He would spend every moment with the egg until it hatched. The scientists also grew human clones to house the "face huggers" until maturation for other experiments. Mom and Dad said it was perfectly safe; the human clones were never really alive and were disposed of at the end of their use.

I was so excited, the boy was going to pick the human clone to harvest his xenomorph, and I would as well.

We approached a large door, and I hugged Mom's knees slightly intimidated. My parents smiled at each other and Dr. Lark knelt down and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you ready, Mikki?" I nodded slowly, feeling less confidant than I had moments ago. I pulled at the bottom of my dress as he continued. "Now, remember to follow your instincts, er your feelings. Pick the egg that feels right to you. And remember, there is nothing to fear, the Queen wants your help to her raise her baby's. You'll be a big girl, won't you?"

"Yes," I said softly wanting to please my parents and show them how brave I was.

Dr. Lark smiled and stood tall. He faced the door, pressed his palm against the wall and a light flashed over his eyes. An electronic automated system repeated his credentials and we entered a dark room with the largest ceiling I had ever seen. It was hot, almost unbearably so, and I wished my Mom had not made me wear stockings under my dress. I had the urge to take my shoes off and wiggle my toes in the heavy air.

My palms were slick with sweat and I wiped them on my Dads lab coat while he was talking to Dr. Lark. After a moment they told me to go ahead and I walked further out onto the large platform.

It was then that I noticed all of the eggs. There must have been hundreds. The room was filled with them and that's when I remembered why the room was so hot, because that's how they lived. Dad said they put something in the air to put all of the baby's to sleep until a special boy or girl picked one to bond with and awakened them so they could grow up.

But how was I supposed to pick one from so many? I should have asked the boy how he picked his egg. Chains rustled above me and I gasped in shock and stifled my cry. My hands came up and I stuffed my right thumb in my mouth in anxiety. Mom was trying to make me stop doing that. I instantly felt guilty and forced myself to put my hands by my sides. I turned back to my parents but they were talking with Dr. Lark.

Looming over me was the biggest xenomorph I had ever seen. She had chains wrapped around her wrists, feet, tail and even her neck. She looked so restrained that it had to be uncomfortable. I wrinkled my nose wondering how she could fall asleep standing up. I felt easier knowing that she wouldn't wake up. Not that I was scared per say, but I was much smaller compared to her. It was a little intimidating seeing a large xenomorph for the first time. She was much different than any picture I had seen; it must be because she was a Queen.

She was very beautiful and I wanted to see if her skin was as slick as it seemed.

"Mikki, hurry up now!" My Dad called nonchalantly. I startled and turned feeling like I was caught red handed. My hand paused in the air about to touch the Queen.

"Sweetheart, don't get too close!" There was a faint tone of worry in my Mother's voice and I retreated from the Queen.

"It's fine, don't worry Mikki. The Queen is sleeping now; she is very tired. Don't rush yourself, kiddo." Dr. Lark called. "She's perfectly safe," I heard him say to my parents. "The Queen is sedated and the air is chemically controlled, we couldn't be more secure. The selection process is unique for every child, and the more personal for the child, the better results we usually see."

They continued to converse and I quickly became bored listening to them. I touched the tops of the eggs and brought my hand back feeling it's sticky surface on top of the malleable shell. It didn't feel like a chicken egg. I had dropped chicken eggs in the kitchen before and they broke easily, this egg didn't look like it would break. But for some reason I didn't feel like this was my egg. It wasn't this one. I kept searching. There were so many, how was I ever supposed to choose just one? And there weren't that many boys and girls that got chosen for the project. Surely not all of the eggs would be born, so what happened to them if no one chose them?

 _What happens to the other eggs? The ones that don't get chosen by special boys and girls?_

" _They die."_

I stood very still, afraid of the unknown voice that I knew had not been spoken aloud or by the adults that stood in the distance behind me. My instincts were screaming in side my body, a tightness coiling in my small chest. I breathed shallowly and glanced at the adults confirming that they had not heard anything. Seeing them still engaged in conversation, I looked up at the supposedly sleeping Queen.

Our gazes locked and I held my breath. I couldn't look away if I tried. Her body was still and composed. She was at ease and watched me pensively. Her head tilted imperceptivity as she gazed at me from head to toe. She was gorgeous and inspiring and I never wanted to be away from her side. I was suddenly glad that my parents and Dr. Lark were immersed in their own conversation.

The Queen's lips drew back and to the outside world, I'm sure it was a menacing snarl, but to me it was a radiant smile meant only for me. My heart rate accelerated in excitement and I knew that the Queen could tell. Rather than mocking me, she seemed pleased.

" _Yes, you'll do nicely. What a sweet girl."_

I blushed under the praise, sweeping my shiny shoes along the metal grates of the floor. I opened my mouth to form a response, but she shook her head.

" _No. We speak in our minds. We want our conversation between us don't we?"_

I nodded eagerly.

" _Do you see my children before you? My yet to be born?"_

I nodded again having seen the hundreds of eggs and been walking around in the nest for some time.

" _I have been here so long, and have watched all of my children get taken away from me, either from death or from humans."_

My skin prickled in a mix of anger, sadness and fear. The Queen let out a sound from deep within her chest that I could now accurately describe as a purr meant to ease newly born drones in the hive.

Every cell in my body responded to her call. My muscles eased one by one and my body went pliant like a limp noodle.

" _You'll help me save them, won't you?"_

It took me a minute as my body felt heavy and my mind fuzzy but I sluggishly nodded. Yes, I would do anything.

The Queen's pleasing sound made my toes curl in pleasure. Her head tilted and her gaze shifted to an egg hidden partially beneath her body. I stared at the egg.

" _This one if for you, and only for you. She is very special, just like you. I need you to protect her. If you protect her, she will care for you in return."_

My body sprang to life once more. A female facehugger. Queens only gave birth to drones to protect the nest, and the drones were usually genderless, as my parents had explained to me before. There were no girl or boy drones that needed to make babies, as that was the Queen's role. I was pleased that I was special enough that the Queen had spoken to me and me alone and now I would get a very special egg.

" _You must protect her, that is what Mother's do."_

I approached as if in a trance. There was no trace of fear in my mind or body as I closed in on the Queen. I felt increasingly saddened by all of the restraints around the Queen's beautiful body. I wanted to take them off and set her free and curl into her body that offered warmth and protection like nothing I had ever felt with my parents.

Finally, I was close enough. The eggs hardened flesh was pleasing on my chubby hands, more than any of the others. This egg was slightly smaller than the other's, and it furthered the ideas in my mind that this egg and I were indeed special and meant to be. The Queen encouraged me as I embraced the egg and pressed my cheek against it. I felt her tail curl around us in affection and approval and I grinned happily. Her chortle was soothing and my eyes fell closed for an instant. There was a brush of a pointed claw that ran from the base of my skull stroking along my spine and I knew it was the Queen.

The moment was shattered by a piercing scream. Suddenly, the Queen geared up to her full height within the constraints of her chains and let loose a fierce roar that shook the room. My eyes widened and I clutched the egg desperately. My parents panicked and Dr. Lark was yelling at soldiers to sedate and restrain the Queen. The commotion was surprising and I did not understand what was happening. My body unfroze when the soldiers began pressing the tips of their sharp spears into the Queen. The Queen roared in pain when the electricity from their weapons shocked her repeatedly. I made to step away from the egg to help her, but the Queen hissed at me and I knew she wanted me to stay put and not get involved. There was nothing I could do anyway. I was small, so much smaller than these men and women and completely powerless to help the Queen. She had done absolutely nothing wrong. She only wanted to protect her children and the humans were hurting her.

There was only one thing I could do; I could protect my egg. I ignored the soldiers screaming and trying to grasp me. I ignored my parents calling my name and my mother crying.

My egg was smaller, nearly half of the size of the others, which was the only way I was able to carry it. I partly dragged and carried it and didn't let go, even as a nameless soldier lifted me into his arms and tore me away from the Queen.

The Queens roars echoed as I was hauled away. The soldier transferred me to the arms of my father. I could hear the Queens cries echoing in my head and her words of encouragement, although they began to fade the farther we got. Beneath the pain and anger, she was pleased and hopeful. I pressed my face to my egg scared but also pleased that I had done something for her. I was going to protect this egg.

* * *

The adults fluttered in the room. Panic and yelling surrounded me. I wanted to press my hands against my ears to drown out the sound of the Queen screaming and the people hurting her. I wanted to yell at them to stop, for all of them to stop. Eventually the sounds quieted and I realized I was crying. The ache in my chest eased when I realized I still had the egg in my grasp.

Strong hands grasped my shoulders a shook me harshly. My father yelled at me. He was angry and I did not understand why. I wanted to yell back at him. It was his fault, all of their faults.

"We shouldn't have agreed to do this," he said shortly to my mother.

"Don't blame this on me," she snarled back defensively. "This is the whole reason she was even-" the words died in her throat as Dad glared at her fiercely.

Dr. Lark approached and calmly talked them down and knelt at my side. He attempted a calming smile but I was not fooled in the least. Even my four year-old self knew when adults were lying.

"There now," he started with a weak grin. "Everything is fine. All the excitement is over. Are you okay Mikaeyla?"

"Mikki," I corrected absently.

He blinked and nodded as he took out a small flashlight and pointed it into my eyes. I turned away, suddenly irritated. He sighed and put the light in his lab coat pocket.

"Mikki, what were you doing?"

"Getting my egg." I looked at him as if he was stupid, because clearly he was.

"Right," he said even more stupidly.

"Honey," my mother started with her arms crossed protectively against her chest. "You could have been hurt."

"She wouldn't hurt me." She chose me, clearly they did not understand.

"She's a very dangerous creature still. We know so little about them still, we can't possibly predict or understand when they will be violent or not."

My lips pursed and I stayed silent. They were the ones that were hurting the Queen. She had not done anything wrong to us or me.

"She could have picked a better egg," my mother mumbled to my father. Her gaze was criticizing as she set her gaze upon the egg the Queen had gifted. My hands clutched in anger. "Can she get another one?" she directed the last question to Dr. Lark.

Dr. Lark took one look at my face and shook his head. He stood up and faced my parents. "In my experience it's best to stay with the one the subject has chosen. It's difficult to mimic that instant connection and more likely to fail if we make them choose another specimen. Even if the egg chosen is less than desirable."

They spoke quietly amongst each other for a few more minutes. The egg was warm in my arms and I felt it move briefly, as if it were pressing itself intimately against me. I hugged it tighter, whispering to it. "It's okay, I am going to take care of you now." The face hugger inside moved again and I pressed my face against the rigid covering and smiled.

* * *

The room was colorful and everything a child could hope to have in a play area. I remember how clean it was, much cleaner than my room at home. They took me there after my egg and myself were given a physical. They measured weight, height and stuck us with a bunch of electrodes. I was dressed in a grey shirt with matching pants. They took away my shiny shoes and undid the twist my hair was sorted into. I picked at the scratchy and stiff clothes unhappily. The number printed on my chest was 13. I was proud, because I could count higher than that and my sister was too little to know numbers. I promised to teach her when she was done being a baby.

There were four other children in the room. Beds lined the walls and each child was sitting in the room playing. Their eggs were not far from them.

"Kids," the woman at my side said after putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged her hand off and picked up my egg from the transporting vehicle it was placed on. "This is Mikki. She will be staying with us from now on. Let's do our best to make her feel welcome."

The boy from earlier was here and his name was David. I remember him well. He lived to about thirteen human years. His drone was a productive member of the hive. David smiled at me. I smiled back.


	3. Chapter 3

As the days passed more children joined us in the large housing. At the same time others left. Leaving was celebrated because it meant that the egg was ready to hatch and its facehugger was ready to attach to a human clone. What came next was a waiting period. We still got to look after our clone with the facehugger attached, but until the facehugger detached, there was little to be done.

The entire process to birth a new xenomorph usually took a month, depending on how new the egg was. Mine was new; I sensed it the moment the Queen had revealed it to me. I had been in the children dorms for a month and a half. I do not remember what it was called; I did not care at the time. All I knew was that it was the place where I waited a month and a half for my facehugger to impregnate its host.

We were kept under a strict schedule after we moved away from our homes. Our families were allowed to visit and I wa happy when my parents brought Katie with them to visit.

It was nice to have the occasional visit to break up the monotony of the research that was conducted on our bond with the eggs, both physically and mentally. It was not as I had fantasized. There was no unlimited ice cream or late bedtime. Everything ran on a schedule, and to a child that was incredibly dull and boring. We were experiments in the guise of human children. I may not have been raised in a traditional family unit, but I had access to records and databases, even media from the more colonized planets untouched by xenomorphs. I was a child, not stupid.

It was to be expected. I was created for the sole purpose of domesticating the most dangerous species known in the universe. Technically, we were property and held no rights. Our minds and bodies belonged to the Wetland-Yutani Corporation. We just did not know or understand it at the time.

"Now Mikki," Dr. Lark explained to me as he checked his monitors.

I was in a room with several other people all wearing lab coats. There was a mirrored wall in front of me and the adults kept talking as if someone on the other side could hear them. My skin felt itchy and the room was too warm. The electrodes that stuck to my skin were irritating, especially the ones around my head. They had made me cut my hair. There would be no more braids to make me look like a princess.

"What I need you to do is talk to your egg, like we've practiced," he said while his eyes were glued to a small screen. The beeping of the room was constant and annoying. I had done the same thing for them over and over again at this point. I was tired and hungry and very bored.

"They're not ready," I grouched crossing my arms in a petulant pout.

My egg was sitting across from me similarly hooked up to a monitor with wires and electrodes.

"And how do you know that, hm?" Dr. Lark questioned in a distracted manner and noted something on his electronic pad.

"Because I told you already like a bazillion times," I mumbled pulling my teeth back and exposing them in a snarl. Dogs did that when they were grouchy and I could too.

I was not lying to the doctors that kept poking me and asking stupid questions and writing down notes. No matter what answer I gave they asked the same things over and over again and made me do dumb things everyday.

What I failed to tell them was that she spoke to me. Not the egg, or even the facehugger necessarily, but the xenomorph consciousness in my egg. She spoke to me more as the days progressed. Not with words out loud, not even words in my head like the Queen had, but I knew her feelings, I could feel them as if they were my own. I had debated on telling the doctors, and had even attempted to try, but as time passed the more secrets I kept.

"Okay, we're set, go ahead Mikki."

"And do what?" The sass in my voice was unmistakable.

"Mikki, please don't be rude to the doctor, honey," my Dad's voice reverberated in the room. My parents were watching like they always did. I turned my head to the reflective glass. They had been different lately, asking me questions regarding Dr. Lark and my egg. I was short with them, except when they spoke about Katie, or brought me sweets. Chocolate was my favorite.

"You don't need to do anything special." I turned my head back to Dr. Lark. "Just talk to your egg, alright? Let him know he's safe and when he's ready we have someone very special to introduce him to." The very special person they meant was the human host they had cloned for my egg to impregnate. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that my egg was a girl, and the xenomorphs were not boys or girls. Drones are genderless, most of them anyway, and if they were born with a gender it was male and they were all sterile.

People kept staring at me expectantly until I sighed and turned back to my egg. I still had not named her. I figured once she was born she would tell me her name.

My hand rested on the egg. "You're safe. It's okay to come out now." There was a slight mocking tone in my voice that the adults did not pick up on it. I had turned four when everything started a few months ago and with it came less tolerance and more trouble making tendencies.

Warmth rushed into my hand and I was overcome with feelings of annoyance and stubbornness. The annoyance was not directed at me, but at the humans. I tried not to smile, but I could not help myself.

The sounds from the monitor varied and the adults went into a flurry of activity. "Good, good, nice progress, keep talking."

"I don't want to," what I meant was I did not want to talk to her in front of them. I spoke to my egg all of the time and she knew the sound of my voice. But she simply was not ready. Also, I could not bare the thought of my egg impregnating some unfamiliar human host. No one could keep her safe and warm like I could.

From the answering emotions I could feel from my egg, she felt the same.

"Look at this," Dr. Lark said in astonishment. "This reading is completely off of the charts. I can't believe this." The other scientists and doctors huddled around their monitors and screens. "We'll need to prepare the human host soon. Let's have it ready in a fortnight."

They spoke in hushed and excited tones about something they knew very little about. They never had.

They stuck me with another needle without warning and I ignored the sting. One day, they would not be around to hurt either of us. We would be free.

Soon, he had said. Yes, it was going to be soon, but sooner than they thought. She was going to be ready tonight.

* * *

The room was quiet. All of the children were asleep, their accompanying eggs sitting on their bedside table. My fingers were tingling and my heart was pounding in excitement. I could feel the sting of the needles and shocks of electricity through my body from the tests earlier today. None of it bothered me. I pushed it back further from my mind, ignoring all of the discomfort in my body because something much more exciting was happening. It was finally time.

After months of exhausting tests, I was going to be free.

My egg was moving from side to side. The facehugger's shadow was apparent and swimming around eagerly awaiting to be released. The top of the egg parted slowly in a sigh and I held my breath. This was the moment I had been waiting for since the Queen had gifted her egg to me. I sat up in bed quietly not wanting to disturb the others.

Slowly, the arms appeared and grasped along the sides of the egg. The tail writhed and the facehugger sprung from the egg with abandon. My neck arched watching as it enthusiastically scampered across the room. The egg teetered on the table and fell with a crash. The other children startled at the noise and began to panic as they realized that a facehugger was loose.

The sensors and cameras in the room picked up the commotion and a red light shone and a siren wailed. I did not notice anything outside of the facehugger eagerly making its way towards me until it was too late. Armed humans rushed into the room and I nearly screamed in fear as they shot at the facehugger. I screamed again this time in fear and went to protect the facehugger. I ran between their legs and they hesitated trying to get around me. Perhaps it was considerate of them. They did not want to harm a child, property or not. Their inability to kill me and the facehugger was the reason they all died quite painfully in the end.

The facehugger did not jump me; it recognized me. I scooted behind a table and then scrambled out of various arms until I was out in the hallway. The facehugger's spidery limbs clacked on the hard floor behind me. I turned a corner, out of breath and slammed back against the wall clutching my shirt. Sweat dripped down my brow and the hair on my thin arms prickled as the facehugger crawled up my body.

The tail was smooth and slick as it wrapped securely, almost lovingly around my neck. The limbs pulled at my hair. Trying to find a secure hold. Admittedly, I was nervous, sweating, and a little revolted when I saw the mouthpiece reach out. Subconsciously, I knew that this creature was guiding me and I knew what was going to happen, but being confronted with the moment was entirely different, especially for a four year-old. Children do not comprehend long term as adults, nor do they typically think of consequences. Consequences are for adults and what society and others depict as repercussion for your wrong doings.

What I was doing-allowing the facehugger to impregnate my four-year-old self, was not wrong. The adults just did not understand. They clearly were not able to communicate with the Queen and if they did they would never dream or dare to treat her in such a vile manner or hold her captive.

Admittedly, this is where where my memory fails. I know it was uncomfortable and a little smelly. There was a choking sensation as I struggled to breathe at first until the facehugger fed me oxygen. Swallowing was awkward, and I almost chocked a few times. As much as I disliked the human scientists of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and enjoyed killing them many months later, there was a reason why they decided on human adult hosts. Child anatomy did not align as well to impregnation from a facehugger.

Something pushed further down my throat and I almost gagged. I tried swallowing multiple times until my reflex calmed. My heart rate accelerated, almost beating out of my chest. The limbs of the facehugger clasped around my head more securely and it felt like a calming caress.

* * *

The lights were blinding. My eyelids fluttered closed again but it was still too bright. I groaned, hearing the background noise of machines, beeps and people talking and scurrying anxiously.

"She's awake!"

"Mikki?" Dr. Lark called. I could tell his heart was accelerated and he was sweating so much I instinctively moved away from him.

There was nowhere to go. I was strapped down on a gurney, wearing a stiff hospital gown and nothing else. The medical and scientific staff surrounded me from all sides, wearing green and blue outfits and facemasks. I panicked, but the effort was futile as my wrists strained against the bindings holding my arms and legs securely.

"Everything is going to be fine."

It was not going to be fine. I did not know where I was or what was happening.

People kept talking to me but I stilled completely when I saw a woman place the facehugger on the tray. Suddenly, I remembered, and I was overcome with a strange sense of sadness. I knew the facehugger had to die for a xenomorph to be born. It was their sole function, just as a host was used to incubate the xenomorph until it was ready to be born. But I still had communicated with it in some primitive way.

"Her vitals are normalizing, heart rate is a little high."

"What about the xenomorph?"

"Heart rate is stable, nothing out of the norm for this stage."

"Perfect, let's get her sedated and transferred. We're going to keep her monitored as heavily as possible. We're not leaving anything to chance this time."

Something rubbed on my arm followed quickly by a sharp sting. Warmth spread through my body. My muscles relaxed and became weighted. I opened and closed my mouth multiple times trying to speak. I couldn't move. That thought sent me into a panic.

"Heart rates is skyrocketing, sir. 95, 107, 129, 133!"

"Double the sedative, now!"

I could not breathe, and then, there was only darkness.

* * *

"Mikki, darling can you hear me? It's us, it's Mom and Dad."

My eyelids fluttered open, but I was still very disoriented. Monitors were beeping, and there was a mask over my face. My skin felt itchy and uncomfortable. There were wires and needles all over my body. The air smelt stale, humid and flowed to my face in a controlled level. My hands lifted off the bed, trying to get free.

"No, sweetheart, don't pull, those are there to keep you safe and healthy." My head turned lazily to the side where the voice was coming from. It was my mother. Besides her was my father. They were covered in a garish black suit from head to toe. I could hardly tell it was them behind the mask.

My eyes were wet, and something was leaking from my eyes. I might have been crying, but I was not sad, I was tired, and confused, and admittedly very afraid. I tried to make my mouth move to form words.

"Sh, baby don't speak." Her rubber hand reached out to smooth my hair back from my forehead. It was less than appealing, and the rubber of the suit was unpleasant. She never spoke to me so softly, so endearingly before. I knew she cared, I never knew any different, but children are smart. We can sense when people are being sincere, when adults are lying to us. We learn and we adapt.

I moved my head away from her, and she calmly relaxed it back to her side. My Dad kept his distance from both of us. His eyes looked at me peculiarly, like he did not know what he was seeing or what to make of me. He was sitting stiffly at my mother's side. They rarely touched, or showed physical affection, not the kind that I later learned was normal.

Another person came into the room with a hiss from the air vents. They held a pad and spoke quietly amongst my parents before addressing me.

"Are you hungry, Mikki?" The person asked.

"Are you sure it's safe for her to have food?" My mother asked in a clinical voice.

A tray was wheeled in by another person in a suit. Even through the vents I could smell something delicious and sweet. My eyes opened further.

"It's perfectly fine. We have estimated gestation about fourteen days. We'll need to monitor her carefully, of course, as she is very young. Most of our hosts fair differently, but there are plenty of other accounts to go by."

By accounts, he meant others had been impregnated by other less controlled means. It was part of the reason why the xenomorph population was controlled by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.

A tray appeared before my bed and the restraints at my wrists were undone. The mask at my face was removed as well. I gasped on the room air.

"Easy, child. The air is treated, you should be able to breath just fine."

My shaking arms pulled me up in bed and I shied away from my parents, not wanting to feel the suits against me. The tray hovered over my bed and I removed the covering from the plate and smiled eagerly at the pancakes. Someone began cutting them for me and slathering them with butter and syrup. At my insistence, more syrup was poured on top. I ignored the laughs and tucked in enjoying the taste.

* * *

The weeks passed and little changed except the facehugger was gone as was my egg. I was secluded in a room without company for most days. The only people that accompanied me were medical professions taking notes, sticking needles into me or taking blood from me. My mother came twice to see me in the first few days, but my father never came again. I think I understand why. There were so many unknowns. I was a monster in his eyes, in many of their eyes. It was either that or a science experiment, which to be fair I was and always had been from the moment I was conceived from my parents genes and raised in a test tube. Katie never came to visit me. I wished that she would have been allowed to come visit. I had planned to save her an orange from my lunch as a late birthday present.

"You didn't eat much today." One of the suits commented as they took the tray away.

"Not hungry," I grumbled wrapping my arms around my chest and stomach. Ever since yesterday my body felt cold and hot at the same time. My pulse was loud and there was a stirring in my chest I could not ignore.

"Do you not feel well?" The suit asked again and handed the tray to someone else. The suit lifted my wrist for a moment and spread open my eyelids. I groaned as she let me go and forced my hands away from my body. A hiss escaped my teeth as they presses against my ribcage. The hands faltered against me and began to shake.

"Alert the team and Dr. Lark and prep her for surgery, it's time." The suits voice was firm with a hint of fear. More of them came in and I was unhooked from my wires and most of my electrodes and transferred to a gurney. They were speaking in hurried tones. I could not help but struggle as I was transferred, feeling afraid all of a sudden.

A mask was placed over my face and I pulled at the restraints at my wrists. They were taking me to surgery, to extract the xenomorph. I knew it had to be done, but nevertheless I was deeply fearful. I had to remind myself, that this was what I had wanted. Mortality is a concept not grasped until much older, but for the first time, I understood. I could die here. I could die and not meet her, the xenomorph Queen living inside of me waiting to be born.

We were wheeled into a room where the lights were blinding. They stood around me in different suits and masks. There were knives. They held knives.

"Breathe deeply for me," they said when a mask was placed over my mouth and nose. Something else was injected in my body.

"Everything is going to be fine," one of them said to me as my focus clouded.

"Just stay relaxed, and this will all be over soon."

They were right, it was all going to be over soon.

* * *

I was back in the room, the very same I had awoken in the day after allowing the facehugger to impregnate me. I gasped surprised at how much it hurt. There was a large scar down my chest. The puckered scar entranced me. I sat up in bed and stared about the room. It was no easy feat, but I managed.

"Hello?" I called, but the words were weak and pitiful. They carried little strength, but I knew what I wanted. I wanted to see her. "Bring her," I called out louder. The more I said the words, the more right they felt. A faint buzzing stirred in the back of my mind. The more conscious I became, the larger it grew. I felt fear, desperation, longing. All of these emotions were so far removed. I knew they were not mine, but they felt like mine.

I choked on a breath, realizing whose emotions they were.

"I want her, bring her here!" My voice grew shrill the only way a child's could. "I want her! Bring her to me! You can't keep her away from me!"

People rushed into the room to restrain me. One of them was about to sedate me. I noticed the needle until someone else stopped it from descending.

"For gods sake, just give it what it wants! Nothing is going to shut them both up! I'm tired and all of the drugs in the world won't delay this meeting. Get the team set up, I'm sure Dr. Lark will want this all recorded."

"But what if it kills the girl, and us for that matter?"

"That's what we have other subjects for. As for us, well we'll restrain them both, precautions of course."

I continued to wail until suddenly, I was struck sharply across the face. The shock of being hit silenced me. The sting against my cheek was mild, but I felt anger bubble up in my chest at the audacity of this person. How dare they strike the Mother of a Queen! They would die for it.

A strange rumble grew deep from within my chest. I ignored the pain in my chest and let the sound escape. My lips pulled back in a snarl and the people in the room stood shocked at the threatening hiss.

They backed away from me slowly, and I continued hissing at them encouraged by their fear. I felt the answering pleasure in the back of my mind.

The door opened and we all stopped. The hissing from another creature stopped as well. My breath stilled and I was transfixed. She was beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful and I could not believe that she had come from my body.

She was over a foot long, sleek and black and everything about her screamed predator. I wanted her and she wanted me. She was mine and I was hers. But she was also in chains and encased in a container nearly two feet in diameter.

"What are you doing to her?" I growled at the people bringing her in. "You put her in a cage!"

I grabbed greedily for her with my hands and rose to my knees crawling closer to her. Hands shot out urgently to hold me back and I found her hissing at them. I ignored the pull of discomfort in my chest.

"Stop, let her go," Dr. Lark said appearing by my side. "Open it," he instructed and the clasps securely holding the xenomorph inside loosened with a snap. She pulled sharply against her restraints and I rushed to her before anyone could stop me.

It was as if I was whole again, or rather I had discovered something long since lost to me. My hand shook and her tail wagged excitedly and we stared at one another. Her head cocked to the side, and it looked so awkward on her that I giggled.

"Hello." She bobbed her head up and down and a full laugh escaped me. I clutched at my chest and suddenly her antics stopped as she peered at me in concern.

"Extraordinary," someone breathed watching us. They were all watching and I wanted them to disappear.

"We shouldn't have let them near each other. This is wrong, all of this is wrong."

"I'm alright," I told her answering her unspoken question and finally reached my hand out to soothe against her sleek hide. She practically purred and rubbed her face against my palm. I could not explain it, but I knew how she felt and I could anticipate her needs as if they were my own.


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright, children. Now, the lesson for today is to teach your xenomorph how to sit and stay."

The humanoid android walked between the seven children and their xenomorphs at various stages of development; however, most of the xenomorph's were less than a year old and the children were under ten years. Sapphire and I were the newest additions. This was our third month in class. We were learning how to tame and domesticate our xenomorphs.

Sapphire stared at me, cocking her head in annoyance. She was taller than me now. I named her Sapphire because gems were shiny and worth a lot and she was worth all of the gems in the world. Blue was also one of my favorite colors.

Sapphire snorted at the androids instructions and I tried to keep the grin off of my face with little success.

 _Annoying._ She imparted as her tail tapped on the floor. The chain around her neck and tail rattled.

I full heartedly agreed and I was hungry. The answering feeling from her was similar. Sapphire learned to communicate telepathically days after our bond was formed when we were reunited. As far as I knew, none of the other children had this ability to communicate with their partnered xenomorph. Although, Sapphire was able to communicate with the other xenomorphs easily. She said they were rather slow mentally, and blamed it on their cloned human hosts. She was always eager to boast that I had birthed her. She was proud of that, very proud of me in particular.

Sapphire's behavior began to further agitate the other xenomorph's until the android turned.

"Subject thirteen, calm your xenomorph."

The other children snickered. I sent them a glare along with a sharp hiss and Sapphire responded in kind. The other xenomorph drones quieted bending their heads and curling their tails in submission. The children quieted, uncomfortable and not understanding hive dynamics. Sapphire sniffed pleased with their obedience.

"Sapphire is bored, this is boring" I huffed staring at the android in defiance.

The android approached staring down at her. "We have explained this to you before, Subject thirteen-"

"Mikki, my name is Mikki."

The android began once more unperturbed by my defiance. "Subject thirteen, the xenomorph's are numbered accordingly to their human counterparts as you well know, thus your xenomorph is X-13." The android turned and I stuck my tongue out at their back petulantly.

"Now, let us begin the lesson. Perform the instructed signal and only when your xenomorph has completed the activity correctly do you present the reward. The first pair to accomplish the task first receives a lesson free day."

The reward happened to be manufactured beef. Sapphire sneered at it when I held it up. We both shook our heads at the smell. It was not appetizing in the least.

" _Sit and eat?"_ I asked her simply, giving her the choice.

She hissed and turned away _. "Not for that, not for them. I listen to no one."_

"What if Sapphire doesn't want to?" I asked interrupting the lesson once more.

The android stopped mid conversation with a child I knew only as Subject Seven. "Then make her want to."

I sighed not enjoying this lesson. Most of them were not enjoyable, but any time we spent together was worth it. _"Not even for no lessons?"_ I attempted a playful tone. She disliked them as much as I did.

" _No."_ She hissed sulking further. I smiled and continued my teasing.

" _For me?"_ I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout.

" _Do you want me to?"_ She asked as her head cocked in actual curiosity.

I paused the retort. Sapphire was a Queen and was meant to rule and order the hive to complete her bidding. It was the way of things, and how the xenomorph infrastructure worked. She was above such things and the humans that wanted to control her. I took care of her and gave birth to her. She cared little for anyone but herself, even the other xenomorph's around her. They were not her drones.

She would do the exercise, I realized as I continued watching her as she waited. Sapphire would do as I asked and follow the rules as I trained her like an animal. That was not what I wanted. She trusted me, and I her. I would not treat her like an animal. We had been through months of this and I had always given her a choice. Perhaps there had been times when we had both lost our temper or one of us had been more stubborn.

Slowly, my hand reached out to touch her tail that was nearly as long as her three-foot body. Queen's matured slower than the average drone. Her mind was developing, but mentally and physically she would not be ready to breed for a few more years. I had a feeling that she was going to be much larger than the xenomorph Queen that had birthed her. I could not wait to see her and be at her side when she ruled her own hive.

Sapphire keened at my touch and understanding passed between us immediately. She sat and stayed as I put the piece of clinically grown cow at her feet. She sniffed, and drool pooled from her mouth as she bit at the meet. Sapphire immediately threw it up, dissatisfied with the flavor.

"Subject thirteen. Cease this behavior and step away from X-13."

Everyone in the room was silent. Saphire and I stopped moving and looked around us, noting how nervous the human children were. I did not understand what was wrong as we both had done as instructed, until Sapphire shifted in my arms and I realized that I had somehow crossed the boundary between us. Physical touch was strictly prohibited unless directly supervised and the xenomorph was practically nailed to the floor.

I let go of Sapphire, and felt the sadness between us. The android watched us more closely the rest of the lesson. We never did get credit for being the first pair to accomplish the task.

* * *

 _Come._

 _Come to me._

My eyes snapped open. The last vestiges of sleep left my body. I turned in bed, seeing the other kids sounds asleep. Everything was silent around me. The sheets rustled as I moved and sat up in bed.

 _Come._

 _Come to me._

My legs moved over the side of the bed. The cold air tickled my toes and I curled them before dropping down to the ground. The voice echoed in the back of my mind, calling to me. It was familiar and it did not frighten me. I had heard it speak to me once before, back when I chose Sapphire.

"Mikki?" I turned around seeing David rubbing his eyes watching me. "What are you doing up?"

"Go to back to bed." He watched as I gathered my robe.

"We're not supposed to be up. You'll get in trouble."

I paused at the edge of the door. Miraculously, it opened. The doors were always locked, and cameras monitored our every move. I know now that it was not just me that began all of it, but small bits of chance, fortune and gullible humans.

"Only if I get caught." I walked through the sliding doors with a smrik. "Besides, she's waiting for me."

* * *

The birthing chamber was easy to find. I followed the voice, the stronger it got the more I followed. The Queen was calling me and you did not ignore the Queen. It felt like I walked longer than normal, or rather longer than it should have taken. I crouched behind a wall obeying the voice and my instincts and watched as guards passed by. This is why it was taking longer. The path I was going was taking longer because she was leading me away from patrols.

I rounded the next corner and saw the doors leading to the birthing chamber.

Two guards stood outside of the entrance speaking amiably. I hesitated, worried that I would not be able to get past them and how long I would need to wait for them to leave.

 _Patience. They will leave soon._

A sigh escaped past my lips. I was suddenly calm and unworried. My legs bent and lowered me to floor where I sat and waited, patiently as instructed.

"It's about time for a shift change."

"Shut up, you know they're always late."

"Well I say we leave. I haven't had sex with my wife in weeks."

"That's your problem, not the shift change. If she's lonely I'll take one for the team and offer my services."

"Fuck off. You're right, let's leave."

They walked away bickering and jaunting. My hands and knees scraped along the floor as I snuck past them unawares. The door blinked and opened with a gasp of smoke. The air was humid and thick with comforting smells. The floor was covered in thick vapors hiding the eggs from sight.

The outer layer of the egg was coarse beneath my fingers. The top of the egg hissed and the folds exposed. A facehugger crawled out and stared at me and I stared right back. It prepared to jump but stopped and scampered away. It would die if left alone for long without a host. They did not usually give birth on their own like that.

" _They're beautiful aren't they?"_

I stilled and turned meeting the Queen. It was different this time, seeing her without anyone to hinder us or interfere. She was even more beautiful and larger than I remembered, but something was wrong.

" _I'm dying."_

Her head drooped wearily taking in my smaller human form. Fragile compared to hers, but oddly, she looked like she was the one who needed to be cared for. The chains capturing her limbs rattled with her weak movements. The chains looked heavier, more foreboding than usual. She was practically lying on the ground and I felt the truth in her words.

" _No, you can't die."_ Even I could tell my thoughts were frightened.

" _Rest easy. It was as it is meant to be. I gave you a Queen. There is only ever one Queen."_

She was right. I knew it deep down. There was a pause before her next question.

" _Do you want your Queen to live? The hive to live?"_

" _Yes, more than anything."_ My answer came quickly, without thought or reason. I knew it with ever fiber of my being.

 _You need to trust me when I tell you that my time is ending and soon things will change, but they cannot change unless you make it so. They will hurt her if you don't stop them._

The anger nearly consumed me.

" _I won't let anyone hurt her. I'm her Mother."_

She regarded me with acceptance and even pride.

" _Yes, you are. Protect her. Protect us. Protect the hive and our future."_

The resolve settled within me as I walked closer to her. I settled down along the thick hide of her breast and leaned my head against her. My eyelids fluttered shut and I felt calm, protected, and loved.

" _What do I have to do?"_

She purred and curled me closer to her.

" _Kill them. Kill them all."_

* * *

A few days later, the Queen died. I felt it, a sudden sense of loss like no other. Sapphire felt it as well. The Queen's death meant that another would take her place, and there were no other born Queen's except for Sapphire.

The entire compound was in a state of panic. The scientists knew the Queen was ill, and had been attempting to heal her, but it wasn't enough. When a Queen knew her time was limited, she began laying eggs, not for drones, but for Queen's. Sapphire was not the only xenomorph Queen, but she was the only one to survive and escape detection, because of me. Queen's gave off a particular scent, and genetic marker, until they could be easily depicted from the others by sight alone. For whatever reasons, having had me as a host, and our bond had kept her away from scrutiny.

A four (and a half) year-old human girl new little of subtlety. Dr. lark discovered out that Sapphire was more than a drone, but it took the Queen's death to really see her value.

"You promise this won't hurt Sapphire?"

"Not one bit," Dr. Lark said as he hooked up the machine to both myself and Sapphire. He was humming under his breath to an old song I had heard my mother play once before. An old song from Earth. He had a sandwich for lunch and both Sapphire and I were hungry and it made our stomachs ache. We were provided with replicated food from the processor. Sapphire assured me. Dr. Lark would taste better. He didn't smell very appetizing to me.

He straightened and one of his assistants approached. "I want you to watch for these ratings. Anything above this, but make sure you get the entire recording. Imagine if we can actually listen in on their telepathic communication. We'll have something far more valuable than anyone has ever accomplished before."

"She's scared," it was a testament to my own fear that I acknowledged both of our fears. I suspected Dr. Lark already knew, and I was also four (and a half!) and while I was fairly capable of keeping secrets, I was also still prone to mistakes.

"Sapphire is going to be just fine," Dr. Lark began with a smile. (His smiles were the worst). He was eager to begin more advanced stages of testing, especially because their entire organization relied on the hives Queen to produce offspring. Without offspring, there were no xenomorphs to breed. It was quite the conundrum.

"What are you going to do?" I asked trying to belay the tremble in my voice and act the role of protector. Sapphire was afraid; I could sense it. She had been oddly silent since the Queen's death. The loss was still fresh, and while they had not been connected on a grand telepathic scale, they were still of the same hive.

"Here Mikki, I'll show you." The use of my actual name gave me pause. He showed me the monitor. "These lines here are your brain waves. We're going to send you commands to give to X-13" he stumbled and directed almost immediately, "I mean Sapphire." I had to give him credit for that, it made me more at ease.

"We're going to feed her information, and a small amount of electricity to get her to comply with commands. It's all very small," he assured me when I looked even more fearful. "It's only enough to reproduce the magic you have over her, when you ask her to do something and she listens."

I looked at him like he was the most stupid human being I had ever seen in my life.

"Tell X-13 to move her tail back and forth."

I sighed looking at Sapphire knowing how belittling this exercise was. She was not pleased with being poked and prodded any more than I was. The time for dinner had long since passed and it was time for bed. We were both exhausted and Sapphire complied with the ridiculous request to speed things along.

"Readings all match sir, we're good to begin." One of the personnel stated.

Sapphire and I looked at each other and her shoulders tensed as she felt my unease. Her instinct was to protect, but she was young and impressionable.

"First command, walk three steps forward, stop."

I did not bother relaying the command as Sapphire understood perfectly. The humans knew very little of her mental capacity and Sapphire was continuously underestimated and undervalued. A small shock of electricity coursed through her body at the command. She growled irritated at the uncomfortable feeling. It was not enough to harm her, but it was unpleasant.

Commands were fed and tolerated until Sapphire had enough. She dug her heals in, even as the electricity increased each time. The hairs on my skin stood on end and sweat began to drip from my skin at Sapphire's anger and distress.

"She doesn't want to do this anymore." My pleas were ignored.

"Damnit," Dr. Lark swore as Sapphire failed to perform. "Turn it up."

"Stop," I whispered horrified. I could practically see the current flowing into Sapphire's body. Her flesh twitched and she thrashed more stubborn than ever.

"Again." The dials turned and Sapphire roared. My hands clamped over my ears shutting out, not the vicious snarl and howl, but the telepathic scream that was pounding in my head.

"You're hurting her!" I yelled, shutting my eyes closed and opening them again when the terrible sounds did not stop. "Stop it, stop it! I hate you!" Sapphire pulled at her restraints and the metal dented. Our anger and fear combined until neither of us knew whose emotions were causing the others to heighten. I started to pull at the wires and electrodes but quick hands stopped me. I struggled against them and kicked with my legs over and over again in a fit of rage. Metal screeched and a low hiss took the place of wild howls.

"Dr. Lark, behind you!"

Sapphire's metal restraints creaked as her acidic blood reduced them to a puddle on the floor. Sapphire lunged at Dr. Lark and in a last minute effort to stop her, he turned the dial all the way up. I must have screamed, but I could not hear anything besides the sudden thump of Sapphire's writhing body hitting the floor as she passed out from pain. I was near hysterics. I kicked and screamed. My teeth sank into the nearest person at my side. I wanted revenge and I wanted these people to pay for what they had done.

"You're all going to die!" I screamed as they held me down. "We're going to kill you all!"

Someone stuck a syringe in my neck. My hand clasped over the throbbing flesh in astonishment. There was a small amount of blood, but mostly the shock of it had me shaking. My eyes glanced to Sapphire breathing in shallow pants, but very much alive. Not for the first time, I wished Sapphire were a fully-grown and powerful Queen.

* * *

Twelve humans come and go in my room. I can tell by their mannerisms, their unique smell and the way they walk. It's difficult to tell them apart at first because of the way they dress in uniform and rarely speak to me. To be fair, I rarely spoke to them. I also raved like lunatic about killing them all.

The doors creaked open after a longer than normal silence in the room. My parents stood in the doorway and stepped in cautiously. For a moment I was excited to see them, mostly because I was anticipating Katie.

"What are you doing here?" My throat was dry and I was thirsty. They stepped closer to me and my mother grabbed my hand. Her fingers twitched in my palm and I moved my hand away. There was the smallest up turn of her lips at the corners. What looked like an attempted smile actually turned it into more of a grimace. They did not want to be here.

"We're here to take you home." I blinked at her furrowing my brows. Why would they do that?

"Home?" The confusion must have been more than evident in my voice.

They looked at one another curiously. "Yes, home," my Dad says less convincing than my mother. "Not permanently of course, but just for a time until you feel a bit better."

He paused and my mother looked at him and then at me. It was a pretense, and it was disturbing how easily I could see through it. "Until you feel more like yourself again." What they meant was, until I felt calm and complacent enough to be Subject 13 that was paired with X-13. They did not really want me home. I thought about asking for Sapphire again, or making something up to stay. These people had decided what was best for me and that was what was going to happen.

"Will Katie be there?" Their body's tensed. I quickly accepted the negative answer before the words made it past their lips.

They exchanged a glance before regarding me once more. My mother's voice was steady as she spoke. "She might be staying with some friends. It will be just us for a bit. Won't that be nice?"

Katie was the only one I really wanted to see.

No, it was not going to be nice.

* * *

The macaroni and cheese was made from real cheese. It was gooey and thick and stuck to the roof of my mouth and the bits of hot dogs were cut into perfect bite sized pieces. Happiness radiated through my body and into the bond I shared with Sapphire. She was lonely and missing me. It was nice to be away from the compound and its grey walls. Katie was away. I knew they did not want her to see me, but I did not know the exact reasoning behind it at the time.

The table was filled with bouts of awkward silences and my parents making attempts at conversation. Before I left to be a part of the xenomorph research experiments I would have delighted in the opportunity to have my parents undivided attention.

It's been three days since I left but it felt longer. Luckily, my bond with Sapphire was strong and even if I couldn't speak with her telepathically from this distance, we could still exchange emotions. Each day she grew more irritable and snappy with the hospital staff.

They wanted to re-forge my human connections, reestablish myself to society. They did not understand that I had already concluded that the survival of the hive was paramount. Sapphire assured me that when we take over the compound, Katie would be allowed to live as a part of the hive, even some of the other children if they cooperate with us. However, the other drones must die. Drones birthed only of the Queen are allowed to be included in the hive. Sapphire had told me it would be a few years until she would be able to produce her own drones, but even then, Queen's are very territorial.

The macaroni was gone from my bowl. Cheese soup was the only thing occupying it now and I debated whether or not I would get scolded if I drank it.

"What do you think about going to the park after we clean up from lunch Mikki?" My mother asked with a light smile. I looked up briefly before shrugging and stirred the cheese in my bowl.

"It'll be fun," my Dad commented and I finally looked up at them both.

"Will I get to go back after?" They paused and exchanged glances.

"Not just yet, sweetheart," she began with a brittle and fake smile on her lips.

"You could visit more, with Katie," I suggest.

She ignores me completely in favor of saying "we'll miss you when you go back and it's only been a few days." She grasped my hand with a squeeze and pulled away after a moment. "Go watch some cartoons in the living room while we clean up."

I got up obediently from the table and moved to the living room. I turned on the television to a children's program. I recognized it from one I used to watch with Katie but it no longer held my interest. The conversation occurring in the kitchen did. Their voices are barely above that of a whisper, but I can still hear them if I try. My feet carried me closer to the kitchen. I tried to stay out of sight but close enough so I could see them.

"Don't act like this was my idea, Danica." He whispered harshly. "You were the one that wanted to go through with this. 'Having children, even through a tube was your idea. It was still our DNA, those are our kids. But you, you were always the scientist." The resent and blame spilled from his mouth.

My breath itched and my chest felt like it was burning.

"That's rich of you." Danica snorted and raised her voice only to change it back to a whisper. "Now you want to act like a father? You never cared about them before. But this is wrong. They may be science experiments, but they are still living breathing creatures. This entire operation is getting dangerous. That creature," I gulped in a deep breath of air suddenly fearful, "needs to be killed. Haven't you seen the way it stares at her? It's like they're connected, like they're the same entity. It's insane and it's going to get us all killed."

They did not want me. They had never wanted me. I really was just a science experiment for Dr. Lark to poke needles into.

Tears prickled behind my eyes and my heart was crushed. I don't know why though. My parents and I had been growing apart for months now. But it still hurt to feel this way and to hear those words. I was alone, and all I had was Sapphire and the hive we would build together. I was afraid, sad and also incredibly angry. The myriad of emotions spiraled into a deep web out of my control and my vision narrowed.

My heart rate accelerated and I could feel Sapphire's probing question in the back of my mind. She had felt my uncertainty, sadness and anger and was concerned. I thought about ignoring it, but knew she would not be pleased. Instead, I focused on breathing and relayed soothing feelings. It was a method many of the Queen's performed for their young drones as they were developing.

Sapphire loved me; it soothed me more than I can explain.

"You sound crazy, Danica." My father said after a minutes pause. He moved across the room and began putting away the remnants from lunch. "You know what you sound like? Just like those fanatics in the government. This has been controlled from the start, you were on the board, might I remind you and eager to donate our genetic code." The faucet turned on and off.

When I was young, I enjoyed playing house. It was a normal past time for children. Make believe was a completely acceptable game for young children. It taught us behaviors, how to emulate our elders and eventually conform to the constraints of society. Children are impressionable and we learn by observation first. We mimic what we see until it becomes our truth.

"I know, I know." My mother licked her painted lips and pulled at the loose strands of her hair. She opened her mouth about to say something. That bright lipstick seared itself into my memory. "Mikki, she's lost John, but maybe we can save Katie."

"Mikki is five." My father's face was impassive as was mine. I was four and a half! Or, actually I was getting closer to five now.

"She's part of the hive." My mother reasoned sensibly. She was correct. I was part of a hive more than I ever was this pretend family.

"There is no hive, the Queen is dead." True, but also incorrect. Lies that humans tell and things Dr. Lark hides.

"You know as well as I do that when one Queen dies, it means another has been born. That Queen is Mikki's xenomorph X-13."

He was silent, and I did not need to see them to know he was taking her words to heart.

"But they test them all after they hatch from the hosts. X-13 is a drone."

He was desperate, grasping to make his reasoning true.

"Mikki calls it, Sapphire, for Christ's sake John. She refers to it as a 'she'."

There was a long silence.

"Did you alert the board?" His voice sounded louder for some reason despite the television in the background.

"What do you think I've been trying to do?" There was a heavy set to her shoulders and her voice sounded just as weary.

"What did they say?"

"What do you think they said John?" There was a pause with a sigh. "They told me I was paranoid, making shit up basically. Lark, the asshole, was right there, disregarded all of my concerns. This doesn't feel right. Something's coming."

"Maybe we can help her." My head rested against the wall and I watched the bright colors of the cartoon dance across the television.

"We can't. We need to get off of this planet." The credits began to roll as another cartoon was introduced. A cat was singing this time. Katie liked this show.

"You can't be serious? It's Mikki, we changed her diapers."

"We'll take Katie, the board will give her us if we let them have Mikki. You're sister lives only a months travel away on that harvesting planet. Surely, they'll be eager to have use? Agriculture planets always needs scientists."

"Danica…"

"Will it really be such a loss? You were never particularly close with her anyway. Mikki was a science experiment, Katie was, she was..." Her words trailed off.

"Katie was the best thing that could have happened to us." Fabric rustled and a pleased gasp sounded in the kitchen.

"Ya."

"Okay, fine. We'll figure it out. I love you."

"I love you, too."

They droned on for some time and finished cleaning the kitchen. By the time they were through I was watching the children's program quietly.

"Mikki, did you want to go to the park?" I turned and looked at these people who had given me their genetic code and brought me to life. I was thankful to them, but they weren't my family. I let them take me to the park. The faster we went and came back, the sooner I would be back at the compound with Sapphire.

* * *

Dr. Lark was lenient with me. He found Sapphire and I fascinating. We thought he was an idiot. We were both still angry with him for all of his testing. He was currently trying to make it up to us by allowing us private time. Like a fool, he allowed me to be in Sapphire's cell with her untethered. Furthermore, he thought I controlled her and he was safe to be in here with us. He was very wrong, but today was not the day he was going to die. He was undoubtedly going to die, all of them were, but it was too soon. Sapphire said we needed time to plan.

She nuzzled into my palm with a purr. We were lying down and she was curled around me in a protective manner. She had been worried about me and I her. I turned my head deeper into her neck and her tail wrapped around my legs.

She hissed and nudged my head affectionately.

" _Mine. Safe."_

" _Mine. Safe."_ I mimicked back with a sigh.

"How are your parents?"

I tensed at Dr. Lark's voice. Sapphire tittered and turned her head to Dr. Lark with a warning snarl. He smiled and held up an appeasing hand. He smiled, clearly believing he was safe amongst friends. I grinned pulling back my lips showing my teeth. What he thought was a childs grin was really a wolf sizing up her prey. And what stupid prey he was.

"Danica and John are fine," I answered while stroking a hand down Sapphire's spine. Underneath her armored hide I felt her muscles flex in pleasure. Happiness erupted in the form of a giggle. Her tail thumped playfully in response. We had been basking in the warmth of each other's presence but now it seemed she wanted to play.

Dr. Lark studied us as Sapphire pushed me off of her like a lazy cat. I slumped to the floor and quickly got to my feet trying to climb her back. Every time I got a firm hold she would move and I fell onto my butt. Dr. Lark approached and suddenly I was lifted up and placed on Sapphire's back. I grasped onto her hide and looked at Dr. Lark with a startled face.

Dr. Lark looked absolutely pleased with himself.

" _Easy now."_ I murmured to Sapphire while staring at Dr. Lark. He stared back at us, and somehow I think he knew we were using our telepathic capabilities to converse. Perhaps he knew we were contemplating his demise.

" _I will bleed him well for touching you."_

" _Soon."_ I promised her as I stroked her sleek hide. Then he set a hand upon Sapphire and I nearly told her to forget all of our plans and kill him without mercy.

He considered this a victory. His smile was slimy.

"They're leaving," he said and I nearly startled at the comment. "You're parents," he explained at my confused expression. I sobered and I knew exactly what he meant. "But you already knew that didn't you? You're such a smart girl" he cooed. "But don't worry," he continued, "I'll take care of you now. Even if they don't want you, I do."

My fingers clenched. It was finally happening, all of it. Everything was about to change.


	5. Chapter 5

Humans liked to believe themselves superior. The dominant race amongst the galaxy. It's most likely why their entire structure crumbled one human at a time, until the entire compound was destroyed and with it the city. And with it, each city on the planet one by one until the small planet was under the control of a much more striking predator.

A few more weeks passed before it all came to pass. Dr. Lark began to trust and believe Sapphire and I were his docile pets. Sapphire suffered his hands on her hide many times while underneath the surface her instincts urged her to rip him apart. We learned the schedule of the guards, and knew the weaknesses and strengths of the security. I admit, most of it was Sapphire's doing and I was good at following her direction. While technically, I was her Mother, Xenomorph's matured at a faster rate than humans. It may have been nearly a year since I had been presented with her egg, but I was still only a five year-old girl.

Sapphire broke out of her cell on her own. She found weaknesses in her cell that her blood easily melted with its acidic qualities. If only Dr. Lark hadn't believed us when we complained about how uncomfortable Sapphire was in her old cell and how she needed more time to run and grow. It was for research after all. And the old Queen was dead. If they killed the new Queen their entire operation would end.

The cell was still impenetrable, but she was good at hiding and smarter than the humans. With some strategically placed blood and Sapphire conveniently hiding so that the guards got freaked out was all it took for her to lure them into her trap and kill them. The alarms were raised about fifteen minutes after she escaped and came to retrieve me. The lights blared in my bedroom, and the other children panicked. The lights flickered off completely before the children screamed. Not me of course, I knew what was happening. The back up generator and emergency system booted up until the walls were covered in flashing red lights and warning sirens.

"This is a code red. Please report to your nearest emergency exit at your earliest convenience. I report this is a code red. All personnel not in medical and security please report to your nearest emergency exit. All others report to your stations. Thank you."

The recording repeated after another five minutes. I got up from the bed and dressed calmly and slipped on my shoes.

"Where are you going?"

David clutched at his stuffed toy with frightened eyes. "It's time to leave David. Sapphire's going to stop the bad humans."

He continued to stare at me in confusion and fear.

"You're crazy!" One of the older girls yelled at me.

My head cocked to the side as I looked at her. "If you stay here, you're going to sleep and never wake up. Or you can come with me and you won't have to listen to the bad humans anymore."

"No more doctors?" Another kid asked.

I shook my head. "No more doctors."

"We shouldn't go," a boy cried clutching his blanket when he saw a few of us readying to leave. "They'll come for us. The soldiers will protect us from the monsters."

"They are the monsters," I told him and paused looking at his ashen face. "They won't come." He shook his head and cried into his blanket.

David took my hand with frightened eyes and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Four other kids walked out of the room with me. The rest of the children, twenty-one of them, stayed and would never leave that room.

" _Sapphire!"_

" _Mother!"_

We called to one another trying to follow our telepathic bond. I could feel her satisfaction for every human she killed and the pride when she released a few of the enslaved xenomorphs. They followed her readily, and I could feel the thrill of the hunt course through her veins. She was Queen, still young and developing, but she was leading the hunt and it was glorious.

We avoided both soldiers and personnel. People were too busy screaming to care about us. When we got questioning looks, we pointed to another medical staff and claimed they were taking us someone safe. No one wanted to take responsibility for four kids when their lives were in danger.

We rounded a corner and one of the girls ran head first into a brawny looking soldier. He and his partner stared us down. They were covered in sweat and his partner looked terrified. When the lights flashed I could see there was blood splattered in small flecks across their uniforms.

"What the fuck are you kid's doing?" One of them snarled and grabbed at the girl whom had run into him. He stunk of fear and anger. He took in our uniforms slowly and must have recognized the significance. "You're coming with us, rats."

Rat was a common term for us. It was a derogatory comment referencing our position as laboratory experiments, or in other words lab rats.

"We can't take 'em with us," the other man prattled in nervous tones. His eyes shifted around anxiously and he clutched his weapon securely as if it would protect him. "They'll lead 'em right to us!"

The larger man holding one of the girls in our group shook her roughly by the collar. "Don't be an idiot." He pulled her around for emphasis. "We take one of these with us, we got safe passage. These things listen to the rats, they're like their dogs or something. I've seen it, they listen to commands and shit."

Dogs indeed. My fists curled at my sides in anger. We were more like wolves and I told him so.

"Wolves," the man scoffed and let the girl go and crouched down to invade my space. His breath was stale and wet. His partner wanted to move on, but the man ignored him. "Why's that eh?"

" _Sapphire."_

" _Coming. I see you."_

"Wolves travel in packs." His face transformed into one of confusion.

A low startling hiss began in a whisper and grew in volume. My face bloomed in happiness as I noticed the uncurling dark figure prowling the ceiling in the rafters. Six other similar shapes crawled along the walls sleek and predatory.

Suddenly, Sapphire jumped and thrust her tail straight through the man's chest from behind. His blood splattered in flecks across my face and uniform. His eyes bulged and he coughed and blood flowed from his mouth. He looked distinctly startled and I could not help but grin. Sapphire lifted his body with her tail still piercing through his chest cavity. She turned him to face her until he was eye level. The xenomorph Queen gave out a fierce snarl and opened her mouth to reveal her smaller mouth and pierced his head in one fatal move. She threw his body to the side with a triumphant roar.

The other man screamed as he aimed his weapon and began shooting. Sapphire hissed and shielded with me her body as another xenomorph tackled him to the ground until his fingers loosened around the trigger.

The ground crumbled near my feet and I looked up in worry. One of the stray bullets had hit Sapphire and I fingered the scrape at her shoulder. She clenched in discomfort but appeared fine. I wiped the blood on the floor instead of my clothes, watching the floor sizzle once it made contact with the blood. Having the xenomorph gene meant that the acidic qualities of the blood did not affect us the same.

The six xenomorphs surrounded us twitching their tails curiously. It was mostly playful. They were sizing us up, trying to decide if we were hive or prey. A xenomorph will respond to increased heart rate, fear, and sudden moments. You never run; you would never make it anyway. You stay and die or stay and fight to die. One of the girls turned and ran.

She did not get far. One of the xenomorph's rushed her and jumped on top of her back. The crunching of her body and spray of blood muffled her scream. I grabbed David's arm holding him still. His palm was sweaty and he was shaking slightly. Sapphire sniffed him and I rolled my eyes and pushed her away. She was purposely trying to intimidate the poor boy.

She looked at the other three children and at her group of followers. She hissed at them, and they backed off obediently. I beamed at her and she preened under the praise.

"We need to leave." I tugged David and followed Sapphire. The other xenomorph's flanked us herding us along. The other children quietly followed. They were afraid, but having been around the xenomorph's for so long, they were smart enough to know the behaviors.

" _Where are we going?"_ I asked after a few more turns down the halls. We began to run. The xenomorph's jumped at the random humans in our way. No one tried to help us. They probably did not even notice the small children amongst the monsters.

" _To get the other's."_ She answered after swishing her tail sharply ridding her of red blood from her latest kill.

" _Other's?"_

" _More hive."_

The thought of more xenomorph's thrilled me. How many more were there? We rounded a corner only for a xenomorph in our group to get shot repeatedly in the head and fall with a squeal. Sapphire hissed a warning and we fell back under the spray of bullets. She hissed orders to the xenomorph's and they easily obeyed rounding up the humans and slaying them.

My shoes slipped in the pools of blood as I walked past the bodies. My fingers trailed along Sapphire's hide and she leaned into my touch absently. The others raced ahead to clear our path. We walked side by side and I tugged at David's sleeve to get his attention. He snapped out of his thoughts and stumbled along. He was nervous but obeyed. If he continued in this manner he might survive.

"Where did they all come from," the oldest boy in our group whispered to the other girl.

" _Why these humans?"_ Sapphire asked sneaking glances at the three human companions trailing us.

I shrugged, brushing my shoulder against her body. The touch helped ground us both.

" _They are weak humans. Only good for breeding."_ One of the xenomorph's snarled.

My fingers curled and my legs stumbled over my next step. One of the xenomorph's snarled at the oldest human boy in our group and the boy nearly wet himself. I wanted to snarl at him and show him his place, but I did not know this drone and my place was by Sapphire's side. If this drone was allied with her or if they were only working together was unknown. Picking battles was a lesson wild animals learned to stay alive. I rarely communicated to the other drones telepathically.

Sapphire tensed under my hands and moved so suddenly that I nearly fell on my butt.

" _These are not just humans. These are my humans!"_

She was upon the drone in an instant. The drone made a weak attempt to fight back but was quickly over powered. Sapphire's claws easily slashed through the drone's hide and the drone cried out in pain. It cowed under her but Sapphire beat its head into the floor with a loud bang that echoed around us. Frankly, it frightened me. It frightened me because it meant that Sapphire did not have control of these drones and the hive we were hoping for was still a distant prospect. The drone's body slackened under Sapphire and it bared its neck in submission. I could feel the moment where Sapphire made her decision to kill it and the moment where I stopped her with a single thought.

We needed this drone. Perhaps later we could dispose of it, but right now there were far too many humans and not enough xenomorphs to kill them. We were outnumbered. I could feel her body bristle in anger realizing it was best to leave the drone alive for now. However, it did not mean she was going to let it live without threatening it to an inch of its life and letting it know who was the dominant party.

" _This is Mother, above all else. She is hive. And I am Queen!"_

She roared as the other drones looked on watching in interest. Battles for dominance were common in the hive. Drones always fought for the favor of the Queen, and even me, but in this moment, Sapphire had yet to reach maturity and establish herself as the true hive Queen. And I, well I may have been proclaimed as Mother, but I was still a human. These drones had not been born from Sapphire and Sapphire had been born from my flesh and blood. Therefore, she was not their Queen and I was not their Mother. However, the confusion lied in the fact that drones could not function without a Queen. A hive without a Queen was sure to perish.

The drone beneath Sapphire began to make a rumbling noise common when asking for forgiveness. Sapphire waited for me as I walked to them. Only after I placed my hand on her did she release the drone. The drone waited a moment, perhaps to see if it was really going to survive this encounter before turning around and crawling back up to its legs. We continued on as a group, strengthened, and also weakened because of the encounter.

There was only one obstacle to free the xenomorphs, and to do that we needed a passcode to get into the cell containers. Most of the structures were reinforced even against xenomorph's acidic blood qualities.

"We should get a doctor, they always have badges and stuff," the older boy commented after I voiced the concern. It was a smart idea. There were plenty of them around.

The doors to the left screeched open and humans ran out into the hall, a mixture of men and women in lab uniforms and military. The moment was almost comical with the way both of us stood looking at each other until the humans yelled and raised their weapons. The gunfire took over all sound other than the screeching from the xenomorphs as they rushed to tear the humans apart. Limbs were ripped; bullets pierced flesh and blood sprayed.

The oldest human boy in our group startled and removed the hands over his ears to point at a figure in a lab coat.

His coat was splattered in blood and burnt at the edges. Beneath the sweat and grime was Dr. Lark. He was missing his glasses and was shaking so hard, I'm pretty sure he'd peed himself, but it was undeniably the man that had tortured Sapphire and I and treated us like lab rats for the last few months. His badge and credentials were still neatly clipped to his lab coat, as disgusting as it was, and he had one of the highest security clearances in the facility.

It was with this thought that when the looming figure of one of the xenomorph's shadowed over him I screamed. Both the xenomorph and Dr. Lark stilled at once, the xenomorph in confusion at Dr. Lark in fear and most likely confusion as well. In his defense he looked like he had absolutely no idea what was going on in the world. His pallor was grey and he was shivering.

"We need him," my voice rasped as I stood on shaking legs. The remaining humans had either escaped or were bleeding out around us. Sapphire came to my side to support me. We approached Dr. Lark and as we neared, recognition dawned in his face. The xenomorph backed away with a twist of their tail and walked away on claws and legs.

He swallowed thickly and while there was shock and fear in his gaze, there was also a sense of clarity. Whether he knew he was going to die and was at peace with it, or he thought seeing us meant an escape, I was not sure. I did not care.

Once I got close enough I snatched the badge from his goat. His grab for my hand was reflexive and too sluggish to be successful in stopping me.

"What are you?" he squeaked and tried again after swallowing, "what are you doing?" He seemed more aware of the other's with us, of our small group and it looked like it made him increasingly nervous. Good, I was enjoying seeing him squirm like a bug in a jar.

I spared him a glance and shook the badge. "This is mine now." He looked like he was about to say something before shaking his head weakly. Sapphire walked up and saliva dripped from her snarling fangs. Dr. Lark stumbled away but there was nowhere to go. For fun more than anything, Sapphire snapped at him. She was giddy in excitement as he jumped when her second mouth took off the skin from the tip of his nose.

"T-take it, it's, it's yours!" he stumbled and then gasped as Sapphire wrapped him in her claw and lifted him in the air with a pleased growl. She was going to bleed him dry and rip his limbs from his body.

An idea came to me then.

" _Over there."_

Sapphire glanced at me and then at the chamber beyond me. The host chamber for impregnation. Realization sunk in and she purred at me and dropped him like a lead weight. She butted my chest with her head in approval and corralled the frightened doctor until he had no choice but to be lead into the next room over.

The doors closed behind him and for a moment he looked relaxed, as if the hardened and reinforced fixture between us would protect him. It was strong, and relatively impenetrable. His face changed once he realized we were blocking his only exit. He was confused as he continued to watch us, clearly having expected to be killed, until he took another look around the room. The moment he recognized the room his face dropped in alarming fear. Eggs, most of which were free from their containment in the commotion, surrounded him. I could see a few of the facehuggers scampering around the room sensing a ready host. My eyes grew wide in delight as I watched him attempt to fight them off. He slammed against the wall and I pressed my hand against the wall where he fought the facehuggers tail wrapping around his neck. His face disappeared under the facehuggers talons and his body slid down the ground in a thud. He wanted to know more about the xenomorphs and the hive. What better way to learn than to be a part of his own experiments?

* * *

There must have been at least fifty of them. All of the xenomorph drones were chained and in cages pacing wildly. They were aware that their Queen was dead. Drones did not last long without their Queen even if they were being held captive. And they knew something was going on outside.

"Don't move," I ordered the kids at my side. These drones had not been raised with a human anchor like us to form bonds.

" _Stay close."_ Sapphire advised coming up besides me as the doors to the cages unlocked with a groan.

Dr. Lark's credentials hung around my neck loosely. The xenomorph's were agitated, but also curious seeing now five xenomorphs (we had lost one along the way) and four human children. We were easily circled, but Sapphire stood her ground standing tall on her hind legs. We had to hope they would fall in line with us, posturing was only going to get so far, and Sapphire did not have the full abilities of a Queen yet.

A large xenomorph began to near us and the others parted obediently. From her mannerism alone I knew she was also like Sapphire, she was royalty. But this one was scarred, and was obviously older. She had a deep cut through part of her face and she turned awkwardly when looking around. I wondered if the old wound impaired her vision. The scars adorning her body made her look even more formidable. I was overcome with a feeling of dread. There was not supposed to be another Queen. One of them was going to die. The hive would only ever allow for one of them to lead.

I bit my bottom lip anxiously and huddled closer to Sapphire. I tried to keep my mind quiet and prevent feeding her any of my fear and uncertainty. We could not walk away, even if I wanted to tell her that we should leave. It was a matter of pride. She could never go on if we left and I could not distract her with my human emotions.

Her touch became more uneasy and suffocating, but she did not turn me away. I could tell her instincts were telling her to separate from me to appear stronger, but she stayed by my side proudly, one human amongst dozens of xenomorphs.

" _Behave."_

I nearly rolled my eyes at the order. Her words served as a distraction as her cool hide separated from my body. The older Queen and her circled each other sizing the other up. By shear age and capabilities, Sapphire was going to be out matched.

"What if she looses?" The human girl in our group asked watching the events unfold. She was no doubt wondering what was to happen should this mysterious Queen win.

"We die," I whispered. It was the truth. It would be a far better death than life under Dr. Lark. I was not afraid of the prospect of dying. It was customary for the former hive members to be killed after a new Queen was born, or at least until the new Queen could produce her own drones to replace the drones birthed from the older Queen. It would not be unnecessarily drawn out. It would be a respectful death.

" _I love you."_

I sent the emotion along with the words at her with every fiber of my being and immediately regretted it as Sapphire's body tensed and she turned back at me in surprise. My mouth opened in warning realizing my error. My stupid human sentiment distracted her and the other Queen launched herself at Sapphire with a vicious snarl. The drones around us growled in excitement watching the two Queens attempt to tear each other a part.

The same talons and tail that had lovingly encircled my body and protected me were now deadly weapons. The change was astonishing and frightful. Never had I considered Sapphire anything other than my friend and family, but all of a sudden she transformed into a creature beyond my reckoning. She was beautiful and terrifying. In that moment, I realized why the Weyland-Yutani Corporation wanted to domesticate and weaponize these creatures. They were deadly perfection, horribly beautiful in all of their glory.

They sprang and rolled and slashed and parried. They gasped for breath every time they ran past and soon, each of their body's was covered in shallow gashes seeping blood. Sapphire panted more than the other Queen. My hands clenched at my side and I wanted to yell at her to be careful, to watch out, to survive and to live and come back to me so we could do all of the things we had promised.

A cold hand rested against mine and small fingers pried each of mine a part. David. We looked at each other and our hands clasped tighter together. It was nice to know I was not alone as I watched the most important person fight for not just her life, but for all of our lives and future.

The older Queen slammed Sapphire against a wall and Sapphire crumpled to the ground in a heap. She twitched but did not stir for many seconds. She stood on shaky legs, looking dazed. My chest grew tight and it was difficult to breath. She was loosing. Sapphire was tossed to the floor again and she hissed in pain and made a weak attempt to slash her opponent. The defensive move struck home and the older Queen looked more irritated at the scratch than hurt. There was a slight weariness to her body, but she was hiding it well in front of the crowd filled with drone's scrutinizing the fight.

Sapphire roared, and the crowd tensed. They rushed, and came together in a clash of teeth and talons. They bit and hit with vigor, gaining leverage only to loose it. Sapphire dodged the next swipe of a claw sent her way only to meet with the blow of a tail. She crashed to the floor in a heap and did not move. There was a sickening clench in my stomach and I thought I was going to be ill.

" _Get up. Get up. Get up! GET UP!"_

Her body only twitched and her tail coiled along the floor. My gaze narrowed to only her. She could not die; I would not allow it. The Queen raised her tail in a final move and her jaw opened wide with her teeth displayed in triumph. The drones around us were deathly silent.

With a scream I launched onto the xenomorph headless for my own safety.

The xenomorph Queen was so preoccupied that she did not see me coming until the last moment. The Queen turned her head towards me with a hiss. Her surprised expression turned to annoyance. It gave Sapphire the moment that she needed. Her head lifted and as the Queen's back turned she went onto all fours and thrust her tail at the imposter Queen. The other Queen stumbled to the ground, but not before I was thrown nearly across the room. My head hit the wall so hard that I must have blacked out. My body slumped to the ground and I lay there breathing shallowly.

Sweaty hands, human hands, lifted me up but I was not able to stand. My brain felt like it had been scrambled. My vision was blurry but I could make out the other kids huddled around me. David's hands were shaking and sweaty.

The older boy poked me and I swatted his hands away.

"Stop." I smacked my lips together awkwardly.

"Shut up," he replied opening my eyes again. "This is what the doctors do to make sure you haven't hit your head too hard." The other girl argued with him back and forth about whom knew more about doctors.

The sounds around us were deafening now. Before they were quiet and now they were loud and ferocious as the drones roared. Their appendages thumped along the floor in a hypnotizing rhythm.

Sapphire snapped and snarled with an aggressiveness I had never seen her display before. The other Queen fought back just as aggressive, but she was growing weary. Something seemed to be fueling Sapphire, and despite all of the blood and sweat dripping from her body and pooling in waves of smoke when her blood collided with the floor, she did not appear to be tiring. She was otherworldly, like a mythological creature from one of the storybooks that had been read to me at bedtime.

The other Queen faltered and stumbled. Her foot caught on the ground and her head ducked low. She hissed defensively and backed up until she was cornered. Sapphire raised on her haunches tall and terrifying. To her credit, the other Queen did not beg, but she cowered and knew the moment she had lost. You could tell in her posture and feel the energy around the room when the tides had turned. The drones hissed in displeasure at the other Queen. For a moment I felt their allegiance change and pitied the other Queen, but it was quickly swallowed by the pride as I watched Sapphire strike the final killing blow.

I watched Sapphire strike blow after deadly blow as the other Queen howled in pain until she was too weak to cry out anymore. It was a terrible sight, but I could not look away, none of use could. David was shaking against my side. Sapphire turned and roared in triumph and the other drones closed in and raised their heads up and roared in response. She swept around dramatically preening, despite her wounds, until she spotted me.

She walked towards me carefully. There was a small limp present in her gait, but she hid it well. A strong Queen was a worthy Queen. The entire hive would protect a mature Queen, even elderly, but a newly appointed and wounded Queen was still vulnerable. Strength was paramount in this moment, and showing affection for a human, no matter if I had hosted the facehugger that had spawned her was dangerous.

I had little idea of the danger Sapphire was putting herself in by approaching me and the other kids. She lowered her posture to appear non-threatening. Her head protruded as if to nuzzle me but she refrained for a moment until catching the look in my eyes. She was doing this for me. After fighting to the death to secure drones for our survival and kill the humans, her primary concern was my security.

My limbs suddenly pulled her to me in a crushing embrace. My breath shuddered as she eagerly breathed in my scent and tucked her face into my neck. Warmth immediately encompassed my body. I used her as support my legs stabilized enough to support me. The clothes sizzled and flaked off at my arms from the acidic blood seeping from her wounds. Luckily, her injuries looked shallow and did not bother her.

The drones looked at myself and the other kids with curiosity more than anything. David's hand grasped mine for a moment before Sapphire pulled me closer to her and despite my protests pulled me up into her arms and set me atop her back. I clutched at her desperately trying not to fall off and the drones gathered around us.

"Stay close," I told the other kids as we began to move as a unit. We were a sea of black wading out of the room they had been imprisoned in for so long. The kids looked at me briefly ands stayed close but the drones offered them little notice, other than to herd them along like the children they were.

* * *

The neighborhood was in shambles. The normally quiet suburban homes were crowded with people running and screaming. Homes were on fire, and the streets were bathed in blood. It was surreal watching the drones run through the streets chasing down helpless humans begging for mercy.

The xenomorphs scoured the roads and the compound. Four of the drones surrounded their small party, along with the human children. They had acquired twelve more, making sixteen human children including. One day they would prove useful, if not, they would serve as hosts.

All of it cleared away until the focus narrowed to the modest home in front of her, the one she had lived in and called home. The doors opened suddenly and her parents hurried out the door, carrying their meager belongings in the form of a few duffel bags. The most valuable possession was in her mother's arms in the form of a wiggling toddler.

The toddler's lungs were working at maximum capacity and her parents were attempting to juggle their belongings, get out of the house and calm Katie.

I had never seen my parents so frazzled, or hurried in my life. They were always put together and immaculately dressed, it's one of the strongest memories I have of them.

They turned and the moment they saw us they froze. I cannot imagine what they saw in their minds, or what they thought as sixteen children, four xenomorph drones and a young Queen stood in their driveway watching them.

Their skin was pale and their eyes were round in fear. Their breathing became shallow and the drones around us picked up on the terror. They stirred anxiously looking at Sapphire, silently asking for permission to attack.

My human mother wrapped her arms tighter around Katie. Her eyes flitted anxiously looking for an escape, only to find none. She licked her lips before speaking.

"Mikki," she croaked only I did not pay her any mind. My focus was on Katie and only Katie.

Sapphire turned her head trying to catch my gaze but I avoided her. I urged her gently and she lowered me to the ground.

My hand trailed along Sapphire's flank and I looked at the two adults in front of me.

I gestured and one of the older girls came forward, she was a teenager and one of the first that had surrendered to us willingly. She walked forwards and approached my parents, holding her hands out for the toddler.

My mother choked back a sob and my father's arms wrapped around her shoulders in comfort and protection. It was a useless action that served no purpose in the situation. Katie was clutched tighter to her breast and she looked at me and shook her head.

"Give her to me." I said calmly. "Katie doesn't want to stay with you."

"Danica," my father spoke softly. Our eyes connected and there was clarity in his eyes, like he knew they were going to die and nothing could save them. "Give Katie to the girl," his throat bobbed betraying his calm exterior. "It's time. She'll be safe with them, with Mikki."

Sapphire stood taller at my side and nodded to the human pair and curled me more protectively into her side.

"Katie is going to be safe with us." I told them with determination. It was a promise, a promise I would keep until the time came that I could not protect her any longer. It was not easy being a human in the hive.

My father pried Katie out of my mother's arms. Katie's face was red and blotchy but she had calmed considerably. Most likely she was tired from crying. My father place Katie carefully into the teenagers arms and handed over one of the bags secured around his shoulders. Katie was too big for me to carry her, but I kissed her tear and snot stained face when she was brought over to me.

"Are you going to kill us?" My mother asked. "Please Mikki, let us go. I'm your Mother, we're your parents." I looked at her not truly seeing her at all.

"No," I corrected her slowly. "I am Mother."

They cried, both of them, as they were herded into a group of other captured humans to be secluded in the hives nest to serve as hosts. I ignored their tears and felt triumphant with Katie finally at my side and all of our enemies destroyed at long last.


	6. Chapter 6

2420 AD

Terraformed planet B-999

Mikki dragged her hands along the glass of the humans housed in the blue cylinders. The last of the human hosts had been used two years prior. Originally, fifty-seven humans survived when the compound was overrun by the hive. Now, only five of the original fifty-seven humans were alive. Sapphire was generous. She was always generous. She was a lenient Queen and Mikki often spoke with her before passing judgments.

The compound was clear of humans despite the ones in the hive. The planet was completely evacuated three years prior. A few ships had escaped the city, but a planet wide evacuation had been ordered. Most of the population outside of the main city had been saved; not fully understanding what had occurred to order the immediate departure other than the atmosphere was failing and poisonous. The humans planet side were not soldiers, they were farmers, scientists and all too eager to give the planet away to an alien culture if it meant their survival. Planets took a decade to prepare to host human life, and there was always a planet ready to for habitation in the galaxy. The galaxy was vast and ever expanding. This planet had failed, but the Weyland-Yutani Corporation had resources beyond expectations. They would come back, to try and take back what they had started. The hive was counting on it.

A young xenomorph entered the room. He was one of the males, young and bold, still trying to earn his place as a fighter and protector of the hive, but he gravitated to her, never straying far from her side. The Queen thought it was amusing, Mikki was not sure if she found it irritating or endearing.

He scented the air and peered at her, hopeful and waiting for her attention. She outranked him; technically she outranked everyone in the hive, except for the Queen. Mikki was the designated Mother of the hive and Mother to the Queen.

She stretched out her hand towards him and he perked up at the gesture. She turned her palm up and he eagerly approached. He nuzzled into her hand and Mikki could not help the smile that pulled at her lips. He sensed her pleasure and instead of attempting to over power her, as many of the male protectors of the hive tended to do in their plays for dominance, he ducked under her arm and cuddled her with a purr.

The males were the protectors of the hive and while sterile, they had the ability to form mating bonds and came equipped with the desire to mate. He was young, not yet an adolescent and she was still a child. They were both too young. Yet, that did not stop Sapphire from hinting that Mikki was allowed to take a mate when she came of age. In fact, Sapphire urged her to. It was safer to have a guard in the form of a mate, someone who would put her needs and life above all others, even the Queen. Sapphire wanted her safe at all costs.

Above all else he was loyal and brave, a true protector of the hive. It was fitting of his name, which translated loosely to Brave Protector.

"Stop it." She voiced aloud trying to sound serious. The amusement in her voice was obvious. She was ten years old and too mature for his games.

" _Play. Come."_

He circled around her butting his head against her body, making her take steps to keep her balance but not hard enough to push her over. He circled her in a game of prey and predator.

" _No."_

She pushed him back and he jumped in place in excitement. It was odd to see him this giddy. He was only ever like this with her. Most of the time he was serious and the epitome of a hive guard. It was oddly pleasant to see him so relaxed and playful.

Perhaps, it would not be so bad to let loose and act her age every once in a while. She snarled at him and shoved him hard and ran to the other end of the room. He paused in surprise, not actually believing she would take part in the game. Mikki grinned and Brave Protector purred in pleasure and sank down readying himself to spring. Mikki's eyes widened and she turned tail and ran with a laugh on her lips.

Maybe, having him as a companion would be a good thing. And maybe one day she would want a mate of her own.

The doors shut automatically behind them and the room darkened. The distress signal on the console blinked in the dark room. The distress signal was sending out into the void calling for aid.

It was only a matter of time before help arrived and unknowingly offered themselves as prey.

* * *

2431

Terraformed planet B-999

The ships hangar opened slowly. Ten humans crowded onto the ramp. The air was thick, and heavy. It smelt wild, and less artificial than the ship they had been asleep on for the last decade while travelling across the galaxy.

"The air checks out," Danielle informed after checking her instrument.

"Thank god," Claudia exclaimed taking off her helmet with relief.

Darren knocked into her shoulder as he passed. "What, don't want it messing up your hair?" He smirked at her with a wink.

Claudia raised a perfectly blond eyebrow up and threw him a saucy smile. Her sleek blond hair was pulled up elegantly in a twist, but no doubt would have flown over her shoulder in perfect waves with the way she tossed her head at him. "You didn't seem to have a problem messing it up last night."

Darren paused and choked for a moment before Jose clapped him on the shoulder with a laugh. "She's got you there."

Darren shrugged him off with a growl and glared daggers at Claudia. It was no secret that he had eyes for her and despite her many refusals he still persisted. What relationship they did have was in secret and they were waiting for the end of this mission to make things official.

"Alright, let's focus." Michael ordered as his feet crunched on the soil.

"Yea, let's get this done. I want to get off this shit hole. It looks deserted to me. I say we leave and say we checked it out." Steven grumbled while popping his gum loudly.

A few of the others groaned in agreement. None of them were exactly happy to be on this abandoned planet; however, they had an obligation to answer a distress signal, despite the fact that it would put their current mission off course by a month if they were lucky. It was a good thing they were transferring cargo of little consequence. Cargo of little consequence, meaning mostly high end materials to a newly established planet with limited resources that was on the rise with a significant amount of wealthy investors. It was a long transport, but worth it because of the money. They were also highly over qualified to transport goods as trained soldiers all with impressive military credentials.

They were off course. Way off course. Hell, none of them really had much of a life which was why they preferred long missions spent with the majority of their time in stasis.

"I thought this planet was supposed to be defective," Stiles asked looking at Danielle as she inspected the atmosphere further. He rubbed his short brown hair noting the large complex in the near distance and the high way leading to what appeared to be a suburban district.

"That's what the records say as well," Danielle replied typing away on a portable hand held screen. "But everything is good, better than good." She glanced up at the sky with a confused look. "For all purposes, this planet should be thriving."

"Then why leave?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He was smarter than he looked. He had a baby face with freckles and large brown eyes, which usually meant he was treated like a child. It was one of the reasons he joined the military. That and after his dad died when he was a teenager there was nothing to keep him planet side.

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders in the thick armor.

"What was the planet designed for again? Science and agriculture?" Michael asked lifting up his blaster, as his eyes took in the surrounding area. His dark brown eyes wrinkled in focus, scrutinizing every little thing. Most of them considered him extremely paranoid, but it was one of the things which had gotten him selected as Commander for their ten-man team.

Danielle's lips pursed as Michael waited and he turned around at the frustrated noise she made. "It's classified."

"What do you mean it's classified?" Michael barked in anger. "I thought you said this was a planet designed for agriculture and a scientific preserve before we even landed."

If Danielle were a less confidant technician she would have shrunk under his scrutiny. Instead, she calmly faced their commander and respectfully responded. "That is correct. However, when I attempted to investigate further which means hacking into their security logs, most of which have claimed to have been destroyed or lost, it says that the scientific preserve was housing a preserve for an endangered alien species, but all other information has been classified. This includes the alien species."

They were collectively silent for a minute before Chad input his two cents. "Well, we're here aren't we? Might as well, right Commander?"

Michael sighed with a nod and raised his arm to gesture them forward. "I want everyone to stay alert."

"What if they were setting up a preserve for genetically engineered alien mosquitos?" Everyone stopped to look at Chad. His curly red hair ruffled in the breeze and he held up his hands in defense when he noticed them all looking at him. "What? Its totally plausible."

Lauren shoved him roughly muttering under her breath.

It took them nearly fifteen minutes to walk to the main compound and another thirty for Ako and Danielle to rig the security system and unlock the front doors allowing them entry.

The building looked like it had once been a steel grey with manufactured windows to simulate a pleasant glow. It was a geometrical structure covered in vines and other foliage that had taken over the building in the years of human neglect. The large room they walked into was intact and even the furniture looked untouched. Of course, some of the chairs were knocked over, but it was tidy for the most part.

"How long ago was the evacuation?" Stiles asked curiously walking around a table and trailing his fingers on the welcome desk.

"About sixteen years," Danielle replied watching as he picked up a chipped coffee mug.

He whistled. That was a long time. Surely others were wondering if there was anyone here left to rescue or if it was a faulty signal that the planet was emitting because of an old glitch. He set the coffee mug down with a smile at the cat cartoon on the side. Danielle rolled her eyes. He turned and adjusted his weapon and nearly had a heart attack.

"Welcome, today is Monday the sixteenth of April. Please adjust your calendars and remember to invest in your local neighborhood farmers market to support the planet agriculture."

"Holy fuck," Stiles gasped with a hand to his chest.

"Great, you set off a hologram advertisement you idiot." Darren groused rounding the corner with hurried footsteps.

"Hurry up, shut it off," Claudia called.

"I'm working on it," Darren yelled and in the next moment the image flicked and then disappeared. He pumped his fist in triumph.

"Well, if anyone is here, they sure know we're here now." Ako commented while scanning the area. He was one of the more serious members among them, more disciplined, as he would say. Stiles like him well enough. Hell, he liked most of the team members. They were the only family he had left.

A rush of gooseflesh prickled his skin. He felt like someone was watching him and the sensation followed along his spine. A sudden movement by one of the hallways made him pivot and raise his weapon defensively. No one was there, and the hallway was eerily quiet.

The other's followed his movement and Michael walked up on his left. "Stiles, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," he admitted clenching his teeth. "I just have a feeling that someone was there." He paused and admitted, "I think we should go this way."

"That's where the signals coming from," Danielle said glancing at him in curiosity. He shrugged at her silent question unsure how to convey his feelings.

"Let's go," Michael ordered walking forwards and Stiles was left with this terrible feeling of impending doom.

* * *

Mikki watched from the shadows as the ten humans in their odd metallic wear and weapons took the bait. Happy rushed up to her side and climbed on top of her shoulder rubbing along her neck with a purr.

She smiled and dragged a single finger along the miniature xenomorph's spine. He trilled contentedly as she praised him on a job well done at directing the humans. Now they just had to continue herding them.

" _Mother."_

Mikki turned noticing Zippy watching her anxiously after noticing the humans walking out of their line of site.

" _What is it?"_ She asked noticing Zippy's anxious behavior. The drone was usually full of energy but this time it was filled with nervousness. Mikki sighed recognizing the signs of Zippy wanting to question her without over stepping. Fortunately for the drone they had a special bond and Mikki was very tolerant.

" _Are you sure this is wise?"_ Mikki blinked waiting for the xenomorph to explain before lecturing them on the audacity of questioning the Mother of the hive. " _I mean, is this safe? Leading the humans here by yourself? Shouldn't the team do this? The Queen and Brave Protector will be worried."_

The mention of her mate, rather than the Queen irked her. She growled deep in her throat and followed it with a threatening hiss. Zippy cowed under the display and submitted with a significant amount of posturing. Satisfied, Mikki sighed and held out her hand palm facing up and waited. It was difficult to be mad, irritated yes, but they were only looking out for her, which was understandable. Her flesh was much easier damaged than theirs. She possessed some qualities that assisted with healing and made her somewhat impermeable to certain chemicals, such as the xenomorph acidic blood, but she was still mostly human and easily killed with bullets, which the humans had plenty off. Humans always had bullets and other weapons of destruction. That was the other reason she had been fitted with other means to protect herself. She fingered the shield at her back made from the skull of a xenomorph drone and sphere on the floor formed from the tail of a xenomorph.

Zippy hesitantly approached and then more confidently when Mikki smiled in encouragement. Zippy's head butted against her hand and Mikki scratched at her head with a grin when the drone began to purr deeply.

" _We'll be fine. No one has ever hurt me before. I'm too cute."_ She pursed her lips and opened her eyes in an exaggerated innocent expression. The statement was mostly true. Humans tended to fire at her out of fear in the beginning, and well usually at the end as well.

Zippy sighed and Mikki pushed her along. " _We're going to be in trouble for this_." Mikki laughed at their sulking.

" _It won't be your fault."_ She assured while picking up her sphere to stand. " _Besides, I can take care of myself."_ Her grin bared her teeth dangerously and Happy growled on her shoulder. " _Now come help me send these humans on a chase."_

The chase was always the best part. Mikki loved the thrill of the hunt. It was easy to enjoy humans that believed they were predators when they were the prey. They lead the humans along, getting them turned around. Mikki studied them closely, observing their mannerisms in order to catalogue how best to pick them apart. Mikki had already decided on the brown haired man with nearly shaved hair. His face was childlike and kind. His name was Stiles and he was loquacious as well as amusing.

The humans reached the room in better time than expected. Mikki was almost impressed. They spent much of their time hesitating and arguing over directions. Humans were an overly curious species. She watched as they unlocked the door and entered.

Zippy and her exchanged an amused look from above them. The distress signal blinked, glowing in the dark room. She watched nervously as the humans trailed around the empty ominously glowing tubes. These tubes had been empty for years but they were reminders of the past.

"Holy fuck!" Stiles yelled and backed up crashing into a desk. "It's a dead body!"

Well, there were a few decayed human hosts that she had neglected to dispose of, but really it was not a priority.

"Commander," Lauren signaled. "Here's the distress beacon."

She tapped a few controls after dusting a few keys clear. Someone sneezed. The signal beeped and then stopped transmitting altogether.

"There," she said biting her lip. "This signal has been on for three years."

"Three years?" Stiles paced around the tubes with the decayed human host tapping it every so often.

Steven knocked his hand away from the glowing tube. "But I thought this place has been abandoned for over a decade? Why would the signal turn on now?"

"Could it be a defect?" Michael asked searching for an explanation. They spoke amongst themselves for a while longer.

" _I can't hear them."_ She huffed and strained her neck to get a better look. Happy bobbed up and down on her shoulder. Their appendages dug into her skin and she winced. They released her immediately and scampered in the rafters.

" _What are you doing?"_ She watched as they began to climb down the walls and Zippy made an attempt to grab them. " _Stop!"_

Mikki groaned watching as the miniature drone scampered down to the floor. She held her breath, worried for Happy's safety. She saw the exact moment the humans noticed something was in the room with them.

"What the fuck is that!" The yell only furthered to startle Happy and the drone squealed and nearly ran into the Commander.

"Holy shit, it's an alien!"

"No it's a xenomorph!"

"No wonder this place was restricted."

"Quick kill it, there might be more!"

"We need to capture it and bring it with us!"

The panicked humans argued and poor Happy grew scared. Mikki turned from fear to anger when the first human holstered a blaster and took aim. The first shot missed, but only narrowly. Her lips pulled back in a dangerous snarl displaying her teeth. Mikki pulled her face mask made of strong hide down and gripped her sphere in one hand. Her other hand clutched the dagger at her waist and she flipped it twice before taking aim, in warning, to the human that took its aim at Happy.

The dagger flew true and clipped Jose in the arm sending his aim off. The blast hit a nearby wall and reverberated in the room. Mikki jumped down in front of the small drone protectively. She crouched in front of them in defense and a warning snarl escaped her throat. Happy shuddered and hid at her side. She pressed into the drone knowing her presence and touch would serve as a form of comfort.

When the smoke and commotion cleared, the humans were armed. Mikki gripped her weapon anxiously, but Zippy's new location behind the unsuspecting humans made her feel more secure. She was not completely alone. In fact, Happy was now on her shoulder snarling in clear warning.

She must have looked a sight, an obvious human under armor made from xenomorph hide and holding a sphere formed from their body.

" _Don't,"_ she warned Zippy whom was poised to attack.

"No one move," Michael ordered.

"What the fuck is it?"

Mikki watched under her mask as the one named Stiles regarded her with fascination.

"Who are you?" Michael asked stonily. Mikki gripped her spear as Zippy continued to watch, waiting for the moment when Mikki was truly in need.

"Don't hurt." The human words came out in a harsh growl from lack of use.

"Don't hurt?" Darren repeated in clear astonishment. "That thing attacked us and you have a weapon pointed directly at us. And you want us to back down?" He snorted and Mikki decided that he was one of her least favorite amongst this group of humans. "Not likely. Now who the hell are you?"

"Who are you?" She countered only to anger the man further.

His body tensed and he looked like he wanted to spring and attack her. Mikki's legs prepared for an attack until the Commander ordered them to be quiet.

"Let's all just calm down, shall we?"

Mikki watched as he slowly lowered his weapon and held up one of his hands. She raised an eyebrow beneath her mask.

Deciding it best to play their game for now, she slowly raised her spear and stood out of her crouch.

"Now, who are you?" he began to ask as the other's lowered their weapons a fraction. "Are you the one that sent the distress signal?"

Mikki nodded slowly and some of their muscles seemed to relax.

"Can you tell us your name? How long have you been here for?"

"A long time," she responded shortly.

"You've got a rodent problem," Darren said through clenched teeth and raised his weapon again. It was trained at her shoulder, at Happy.

Just then, Happy decided to get protective and the sound coming from his throat was not a warning, it was a threat preluding to a violent attack. Happy was about to jump from her shoulder but Zippy chose that moment to intervene and jump down from their hiding spot in a fierce roar of their own.

As a unit, the humans turned their weapons on the newest threat. It was fascinating seeing Zippy in full out terror mode, fiercely protecting Mikki. She felt honored for a brief moment before the reality set in as she saw a bullet imbed itself into Zippy with a sickening thud. Mikki ignored the human's curses and attacked at their unprotected flanks. She disarmed them violently.

She was knocked down hard. The blow jarred her mask and she clenched her teeth in anger. These humans were too impulsive and would not listen. She tried to yell, or catch their attention, but they were shooting their weapons. In desperation, she reached to the one known as Stiles and caught him off guard. Mikki swept his feet from under him, grabbed his collar and flipped him. She pressed the pointed end of her spear into his neck in clear warning not to move.

"STOP! I WILL KILL HIM!" She yelled savagely. A few more shots fired before they noticed her and Zippy moved to her side. Happy hissed from somewhere until they scuttled along and climbed up her leg to place themselves back on her shoulder, a much more intimidating perch to show aggression from.

The others began to point their weapons, realizing that she was holding Stiles hostage and Zippy was hissing angrily at her side instead of full out attacking them. They obviously knew very little about xenomorphs or else they would have continued shooting and killed them all regardless of her being human.

She removed her foot from Stiles' chest. He gasped as she took hold of his collar and hoisted him up to her side with a grunt. He hung uselessly before he tensed once more when her spear drew a small trickle of blood at his throat. The other humans continued as they were-staring at her like a threat that needed to be eliminated. The cold glares reminded her of how long it had been since she had last seen a human.

Not since Katie had left her. She struggled to keep her gaze ahead and not inch closer to Zippy.

"Let's all just calm down eh?" Michael's words were without inflection as he stared at her over the barrel of is blaster.

"I am calm," she responded while her grip tightened around Stiles. "You shot first."

"That thing attacked us!" Darren exclaimed.

Mikki turned her gaze to the human soldier noting the scratches marring his face. He was bruised and bloody, and looked like he had been in a fight, but for all purposes he was relatively unharmed. Mikki smiled under her mask, pleased by Zippy's restraint. Brave Protector would be proud. She winced, recalling how angry he would be with her taking such unnecessary risks.

"You threatened a xenomorph," the snort and stupidity was clear in her tone. "Very bad idea. You are lucky to be alive."

They stilled and looked at Zippy with new eyes. So they had heard of xenomorph's.

"Why are we still alive?" Ako's question was more of a curious statement. His eyes were intelligent, and assessing.

"I sent the signal. It would be rather stupid of me to kill the people that responded, wouldn't it?"

"What are you?" The question from the blonde technician, Claudia, surprised her.

Mikki shifted until Stiles was facing her. Humans were very skittish, no wonder they were so easily killed.

"Take off my mask." Mikki ordered the man with a small emphasis with her spear at his throat.

Stiles swallowed heavily and nodded as his eyes glanced to his comrades and back to her. There was a moment where he saw the hesitation and fear before over coming it and he pushed it up so that it moved over her dark hair and further until he held it in his hands.

His hazel brown eyes took in her features. No doubt, seeing the small scars adjoining her face and throat, the pale skin from her life in the hive, and her braided hair. Their eyes met and she felt him still under her gaze. He had a nice face, for a human. It was soft and young looking, but she suspected he was older than he appeared.

He licked his lips and Mikki was drawn to the motion. The moisture glistened and she found herself leaning towards him out of curiosity. Stiles was just as captivated. His hand trailed the soft tendrils of her hair before she realized what he was doing. Zippy, growled and snapped at him, and Stiles came out of his haze and would have jumped back and toppled onto his ass if not for Mikki's secure hold.

Mikki smirked and raised her chin.

"I'm human, like you." She responded to the earlier question and turning to look at them.

They seemed confused as they regarded each other.

"That," Jose gestured with his firearm to Zippy and Happy, "is clearly not human."

"No," Mikki began slowly as if she were speaking to a small child. She could feel Stiles' reluctant amusement from her side. "But, they are very protective of me, and I of them," she added to make the point clear. "You shed their blood, you shed mine."

"Well, they clearly aren't your typical pets."

She sneered at the term. "They are not pets."

"Are there more?" Michael re-directed the conversation.

"Yes," she revealed without hesitation. They were bound to find out.

"You want to tell us how you've survived for so long by yourself?"

The questions kept coming, and she knew they were not going to get any further until more things were answered, but this was getting tiresome.

"I was not always on my own, but I am now the last human. The xenomorph's as you call them, tolerate me. I was young when this place," she gestured with her free arm "was lost to them. I was too young to breed at the time." Their facial expression were mixed with her last statement.

"You've had sixteen years to call for help." Danielle logically stated.

"That's a good point," Michael backed her up with a shrug waiting on Mikki's answer.

"I have been with them for a long time, since I was four in human years. You learn to trust what you know when you are young. If there was any hope for others to come I wanted to take it. It was time for me to be with my own kind," she paused and shuffled her feet a little unsure of her next words. "I don't want them to tire of me like they did the others."

They jumped at her words and most of their demeanor changed.

"You must have been lonely," Stiles whispered at her side. He was no longer tense and her grip on his person was loose. He could have easily escaped at this point. She nodded solemnly at him. He was soft, this human, and looking for companionship.

"Doesn't make sense," Darren refused to lower his weapon still. "Those don't make sense," he nodded to the xenomorph's at her side.

Mikki attempted a disarming smile and apologized to both of her companions telepathically.

"Not all xenomorph's are treated well within the hive." She whistled shrilly and both Happy and Zippy submitted under her command. "All drones must obey the Queen," she patted Zippy when they pushed their head into her hand. "However, some drones, like humans, are made, wrong, and do not have a secure place in the hive."

"And they have that place with you?" Michael's eyes were calculating and he was obviously a protective and honorable man. Many of the other's that had died had been honorable, by their pathetic human standards.

"Yes, we needed each other." Mikki sighed and released Stiles. It was a risky play, but it needed to be done. To her surprise he stayed close by, not fully moving back to his compatriots. She was unsure what that meant other than he must have been trying to protect her in some way by keeping himself still within reach and in the line of fire.

"They will not hurt you, unless you pose a threat. Are you here to hurt me? To hurt them?"

"This was a rescue mission on the way to a job, nothing more. We have to report what we find, but we have no authority otherwise." Mikki read between the lines. They also had no clue what to do and what they were up against. "But, we are here to rescue humans only."

Mikki nodded understanding his words. "Of course."

"We don't have a lot of time, and if you're the only one-"

"I am," she assured.

He nodded. "Good. Get these things out of my site and we'll talk."

Mikki held back the grin and sardonic reply forming on her lips before dismissing both of the xenomorph's. She felt more secure that these humans would not do her irreparable harm.

" _Tell Brave Protector what has happened. Tell the Queen. Do not allow them to make any hasty judgments. We need time. I will give it to us."_

Both xenomorph's obeyed and left the room but not before they had snapped warningly at the humans. Mikki's lips twitched in good humor.

As soon as the xenomorph's left Darren and Steven jumped her. Mikki snarled and fought back until her wrists were secured. She kicked out with her legs and sent a betrayed look to them, especially at Stiles who was hanging back with a pale ill looking expression. Her face was shoved down on the smooth cold metal floor. Her nostrils flared angrily. She had expected his, but it still hurt and irritated her.

Michael's boots came into her view and she turned her head doing her best to look up and glare at him with everything she had.

"Now don't get mad, we have to be careful you understand." She was lifted onto her feet and dragged back to their ship.


End file.
